


The Last One

by JRirenA



Category: Bleach, Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Book 5: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, But Hitsugaya is the main character, F/M, Future Fic - kind of, Gen, Just read it - it's good :), Major character death - kind of, Nightmares, Not a simple character insertion, Regular weekly updates, Sad Hitsugaya, Slow Build, Time Travel, Voldemort doesn't have a body, lots of fighting, not sure what to tag, set in Hogwarts, will add more tags later
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-10-30
Updated: 2016-03-01
Packaged: 2018-04-28 21:56:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 10
Words: 56,983
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5107121
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JRirenA/pseuds/JRirenA
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The 25 year long war is finally coming to a close. Or is it? Could the last desparate attempt from the last surviving member of an entire race be able to change the very course of history and time itself? Could he alter time to stop the war altogether?</p>
<p>Will update weekly</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone ^_^ I'm moving this story over from my ff.net account, Jazflower, so I've already got chapters pre-prepared, and it's a few years old now  
> I know that the first few chapters are short, but they'll get longer as it goes
> 
> About the story:  
> At the end of the fourth year, there was a problem with Voldemort's ritual, so he is unable to regain his body. When Harry returns from the graveyard, he says that Voldemort is attempting to regain his body, but nobody believes him, just like in the books.  
> And on with the story ^_^

He was running, the heat blasting at his back. The air stank of the foul odours of burning, death, decay and destruction all mixed together; the smell of war. The rubble was uneven under foot, attempting to trip him. But he couldn't stop or he would die. A flash of blue light whizzed past his head missing by a mere hair. An explosion was heard in the distance and the massive shockwave vibrated through the ground sending rubble and debris flying and knocking him off his feet. He flew with the mess before slamming into a wall and promptly destroying it. He lay in the mess, unable to feel his lower body. Everything hurt; it was as though his nerves themselves were caught in an excruciating fire. He slowly pulled himself up so that his head poked up slightly through the rubble. What he saw almost made him fall back down again. The once proud city lay in ruins; scattered and burning. It had been his home, the place where he had lived, worked, played and loved. But it was gone; unsalvageable.

A burning fire ignited in his eyes. He was not going to surrender and die, that just was not how he did things. Many had fallen but he himself would stay strong and be victorious, no matter what it took to achieve the victory which seemed just out of reach.

He heard the loud marching feet far away as the enemy searched for survivors. It was only a matter of time before the ones pursuing him found him. He needed a plan and fast. His brain quickly ran through scenario after scenario in the space of 30 seconds, each idea getting rejected.

Crash! "Aarrgghh!"

He was pulled out of his thoughts at the sound of a woman screaming. The voice was familiar, though it had been a long time since he had heard it. Before he realised what he was doing he was up and running, numb to the pain shooting along his spine and sending pins and needles to his legs and feet. He reached the edge of another battlefield within the larger battlefield. What he saw made his blood cold.

On the ground against the wall a woman was slumped, semi-conscious with blood oozing from a large gash along her hairline. Her once beautiful and well kept blonde hair hung mattered and limp around her shoulders and face. She lifted her face slightly to lock eyes with him one last time. Her bright blue eyes were dulled by pain. Her colourless lips formed words that he couldn't quite make out before they closed again.

He was rooted to the spot just staring at one of the only friends he had and time seemed to move slowly.

A black haired head rose from the wreckage of a building, his eyes looking at the blonde on the ground, a sadistic smirk adorning his face. His right wrist was slightly extended in front of him holding casually an exquisite piece of wood before muttering two words.

"Avada Kedavra"

The area lit up in green light, illuminating the area in a sickly green light. The blonde dropped forward, unable to dodge, dead before she hit the ground.

He couldn't believe it. He had killed her. The one single word, so familiar on his tongue, ripped past his parched throat, his anguished cry disturbing the night air.

"MATSUMOTO!"

The black haired man lazily looked over before drawing his piece of wood again. But he had no chance to use it because the other man had drawn his sword and was rushing forward. Pure hatred and loathing shone in his eyes. Hatred for the man in front of him, hatred for the people who killed the people he cared about, hatred for the war, hatred for himself for feeling so insignificant and helpless, but most of all, hatred and loathing for the man who started it all – Sosuke Aizen.

With the hatred running hot in his blood he fought hard, constantly moving, landing blow after blow. He knew he was running while he was fighting, fighting so many people at once. They were everywhere, attacking from every direction, but he didn't notice because the one he wanted to fight was no longer there, the black hair long gone from his sight.

Slowly he moved towards an unknown location, his brain telling him that it was a safe place, a place where he could work out a plan of action. He backed up against large doors and all his instincts screamed at him to run in, that he had arrived at his destination. Following his head, he wrenched open the heavy doors with ease and then slammed them shut. Quickly he set about placing as many wards and protective spells and barriers around the doors he knew until he felt certain that they would hold, if only for a little while. He turned around and was surprised to find himself in the immense library, undisrupted by the fighting. He knew it should be impossible, but the place looked exactly the same as when he had last been here, before the war, 25 impossibly long years ago. He could almost imagine somebody sitting in one of the many comfy chairs around the place, reading a book or talking quietly with a friend. But he didn't have time for that now.

He walked forward unsure of what to do. He felt like he walked around aimlessly for what seemed like forever before he reached a bookshelf, one that he himself had visited many, many times before. One book called out to him, calling his name as though calling a long lost friend. He gently lifted the book out of its place and looked down at the well worn violet bindings. He knew this book, and as soon as he realised that, a plan started to form. He hastily sat down at a table and read. He read faster than he had in his whole life, finishing the book as quickly as he could. However, he didn't know how long he had been reading for, and he didn't know how much longer the doors would hold, so he started the preparations for what would be the most complicated spell he had ever attempted in his whole life.

* * *

Half an hour later the doors of the library were demolished, open for the world to enter. A black haired man entered the doorway as his troops rushed in to find the last surviving threat to the perfect world that was being created. He had eluded capture more times than thought possible for one man, but this time they would have him. He was cornered with nowhere left to run and then all their troubles would be fixed. The man stood silently waiting for his troops to return with the evasive man. Instead, however, all that came forward was a man of lowly rank, hesitantly walking forwards; a book clutched tightly with clenched fingers.

"G-General Potter, he has once again escaped capture. All we could find was this book on the ground. I'm sorry sir." The man handed the book over and General Potter looked at the small violet covered book. His blood began to boil as he read the title of the book:

'Advanced Magic Book 8: Time Travel'

He looked at the book a second longer before throwing the offending item with an enraged roar.

* * *

In another time, a young man stepped out of a bright tear in the very fabric of time and space itself to find himself in a dimly lit alley way, with crates and boxes piled high, long forgotten. He could make out just down the street a pub with the name 'The Leaky Cauldron'.

Burning pain encompassed his whole being as he slipped down the wall, tire and exhausted. Thoughts ran wildly in his foggy mind, but one thought was the most predominant, _I'm the last one_ , he thought, _I'm the last Shinigami, everyone else is dead. Everyone.._.

And with that last thought silent tears made muddy tracks down his pale face as he finally gave into the blissful darkness. He collapsed onto the ground behind the large boxes, his head of once white – now brown from dirt and mud – hair landed on the ground as Hitsugaya Toushirou fell into welcoming unconsciousness.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I said a week, but I'm the worst when it comes to waiting haha ^_^ and I'm in a good mood, so I figured, why not?  
> It's also unbeta'd  
> Enjoy

_"Taicho!" Matsumoto's whiny voice interrupted his paper. She lent casually across his desk and looked at him, as though asking him to answer whatever unspoken question was going through her mind. Well he didn't have time for her childish games, not today. He had a tonne of paperwork that needed to be done by that afternoon, doubled because of the fact that his extremely lazy lieutenant hadn't even signed one paper all day._

_"Matsumoto, I don't have time for this, leave me alone to work in peace. Now!" He remained looking down, but he could tell that she was pouting._

_"But Taichoooo! This is really important!" He let out an irritated sigh and the surrounding temperature seemed to get slightly cooler. He was rapidly losing his patience and his temper._

_"What," he snapped, still working as he talked. He waited for Matsumoto to say something, anything, but she remained quiet. Now he was angry. How dare she come in and disturb him when he was actually doing his job, and then to just not say whatever was so important... He looked up prepared to give her a death glare. But what he saw was not his office, in fact he was no longer in his office. His surroundings had morphed and he was now sitting in the middle of a destruction zone, mess surrounding him._

_"Taicho," Matsumoto's voice rang clear through the air, sounding very eerie in the suddenly dark area. "Taicho, look at me."_

_His head snapped around until his eyes landed on Matsumoto. But it wasn't the Matsumoto from his office two seconds ago. Her skin was deathly white and her eyes were bloodshot; blood seeped out of many cuts and gashes along her porcelain skin. Her dirty hair hung mattered and knotted around her face. She reached up a hand and placed it on his arm._

_"Taicho, save me. You need to save everyone."_

_The previously deserted area was suddenly full of people who looked similar to Matsumoto in terms of the deathly state. He could make out Ichigo and Rukia, Unahana and even the Sou-Taicho, but worst of all he could see Hinamori, standing slightly apart from the rest, her eyes pleading yet unseeing as though blind._

_Everyone was walking forward reaching out to him, as though trying to gain warmth and comfort. Over and over again the words 'save me' and 'please' were repeated. He was slowly pushed backwards right into the arms of the man he hated most in the entire world, Aizen. Next to him stood his faithful lackey, his General. They both looked at him with sadistic smiles on their faces as Aizen slowly drew his sword and was about to thrust it into his side... and then it all went black._

* * *

Hitsugaya came to with a violent lurch. The dream had seemed so real, it was scary. Pain seared through his body as he slowly raised one blood encrusted hand to scratch his dirty face. His movements were sluggish and painful. But the physical pain wasn't nearly as bad as the emotional one. They were dead, and that weighed heavily on his heart, forcing him down until he didn't even know why he would want to get up in the first place; it would be pointless.

What could he possibly do? He didn't even know if the spell had worked. He had tried to get as close to the starting year as he could, but if he was wrong, if he was even one year off, his efforts would have been for nothing, he wouldn't be able to save anyone. He closed his eyes to try and get some respite from his thoughts, but all he saw were images from his dreadful dream, replaying themselves on his eyelids forcing him to brave the daylight once again.

The year that he needed was the year in which Harry Potter was entering his fifth year. The name sat bitterly on his tongue, a bad taste he would never be able to get rid of. He hated the name, but even more so, he hated the person behind the name. If only the boy knew what a monster he was to become, would he be sick? Or would he just accept it? What type of person was he that he could turn so sour? The questions ran through his mind with no answers coming forth.

A plan of action was starting to formulate in his mind. He knew what he would probably have to do, but the very thought made his stomach turn. He had read many books during the war, and one of which was a book on Harry Potter and a person who went by the name of Voldemort. He couldn't quite remember what the book had said, but he did remember a chapter dedicated to this year, year one as it was sometimes called by the higher ups – this was the year that changed the course of the war. Apparently, according to the book Harry was slowly falling down the path of darkness, heading further and further away from the light, helped by the influence of this Dark Lord. The plan in his mind seemed simple enough:

Join Hogwarts for the year as a student in the fifth year and keep Harry on the path of the light and prevent him from becoming Aizen's faithful General.

It was easy and simple. All he had to do was make a mental checklist of all the things he would need to do and he would be ready.

25 years had passed and Hitsugaya had grown a bit, so he could easily pass as a 15 year old. That part of the plan could be mentally checked off.

Getting into Hogwarts was easy, all he had to do was make up a fake identity and school and enter as a foreign exchange student. Gaining access – check.

He already knew spells and potions expected from a fifth year. So that was also check.

Befriending and hanging out with Harry and his friends... That would be hard. The thought of doing it almost made him want to quit, but he knew that wasn't really an option. The next thing to do would be to actually get up and get moving. But try as he might, Hitsugaya just couldn't get up. He tried moving slightly, but the intense pain was too much for his already frazzled senses and he saw blackness start to creep along his vision. In a last ditch effort to stand before his vision completely gave out, he swung his body around, using his own weight as momentum and, ignoring the agonising pain, he managed to sit up.

That was the wrong thing to do. Snap. Hitsugaya felt, not to mention heard, the small disks, already under immense pressure, at the small of his back crack and break. He couldn't help it. His dry lips parted to let the scream of pure agony escape before he fell roughly back onto the unforgiving ground, losing consciousness as he fell. By the time he was lying on the ground again, he was completely out cold.

* * *

Down the road in a small dingy pub, a bartender was mindlessly cleaning a mug, repeating the repetitive task over and over again. Even though it was very early in the morning with the dawn only just breaking the pub was strangely empty. The bartender, a man going by the name of Tom, however, didn't think it that strange. Crazy rumours had been flying around about You-Know-Who saying that he was attempting to regain his old body. Talk like that really did tend to make people want to stay inside and lock up all doors and windows, as though to block any evil presence from entering. Tom told himself that he thought it was complete hogwash. That he had never bought into any sort of rumour like that before, but inside he was slightly nervous about it, but this rumour was a real pain in the neck because it kept all his customers away.

He let out a sigh and looked around the dimly lit, empty room. There really was no point in cleaning the glasses as they had not been used, but the repetition of the familiar routine seemed to calm nerves which he didn't acknowledge. Tom was thinking about how dull it would be standing doing nothing all day – again – when he heard a scream. It was faint but it was so full of agony Tom himself felt as though it was him in pain. Screams like that were never heard around here, not since You-Know-Who's reign of terror. The shock of hearing it made him drop the glass he had been holding; the glass shattered on the floor scattering sharp fragments everywhere.

Now Tom was not a nosy person, but it wasn't like he was busy, so being a good person he slowly stepped outside his shop into the slightly better lit street. He looked up and down but saw nothing. Taking a few more cautious steps he walked down the street until he passed a little side alley. He usually wouldn't have stopped but there was something out of place among the dull coloured crates and boxes. It was like a shocking white mixed with brown patch barely visible, but definitely there, and definitely shouldn't have been there. He picked his way over and he could see just what it was that was hidden. And Tom knew that what he was looking at was what had made the scream earlier.

On the ground lay a boy of about 15 years of age with pale skin and thick, shocking white hair that appeared extremely dirty, caked in mud and dirt. His appearance was extremely uncommon and Tom was very tempted to just walk away and pretend that he had seen nothing if it hadn't have been for the sickly looking puddle pooled around the boy. It looked very much like blood. Tom had no idea how to handle situations like this, but he did know that this boy needed help now. He pulled out his cell and started to type in the emergency number on the small keypad when the boy cracked open one eye to reveal amazing blue-green eyes. _His looks just keep getting more and more uncommon, don't they_ , Tom thought to himself.

The boy looked as though he was trying to force his mouth into some kind of words so Tom knelt down closer to hear. The boy only managed to force out one word, but that word was enough for Tom to close his phone and conjure up a completely different method of communication. An owl appeared, and if there had been any witnesses they would swear that it came out of thin air. But luckily there were no witnesses about in this chilly morning air. Tom whispered something to the bird before it took flight, soaring up into the clouds, flying towards the destination it had been told to go to.

Tom studied the peculiar looking child. His looks said he was a foreigner, but they told not where he originated from. As far as Tom was aware, there was not a child from any country on this planet that looked at all similar to the boy lying in front of him. But Tom also knew looks could be deceiving. Times were getting darker, people were talking, rumours flying about, but most of all people were scared. It was as though they could feel a shift in the air, an underlying menace being inhaled with every breath. This boy could very well be an enemy.

Tom knew every face of every student to enter Hogwarts in their first year, because they all pass through his pub to get to Diagon Alley. And he's sure he would remember this face, but he's never seen it before, which means he can't be attending Hogwarts, which means he most likely isn't a wizard, but that only made Tom nervous. If this child wasn't a wizard, how had he known the name which he had said out loud?

A small crack was heard, but it sounded thunderously loud, like a gunshot, in this quiet, deserted street. A tall man with silver hair and kind eyes stepped forward. He wore flowing robes of midnight blue and perched on his eyes were half-moon spectacles. He looked curiously at Tom's feet, to the boy behind, but then drew his eyes back u to look at the nervous bartender.

"Tom, what is it? How urgent is this, because I am in the middle of a very important meeting?" The newcomer's words were sharp, but they were spoken in a soft voice.

"And who, may I ask, is this child? He looks gravely injured." Concern sparked in his eyes as he glanced back down at the white haired-child.

"I don't know. I found him like this and I was about to call an ambulance when he woke up. He managed to say only one thing though." Tom paused for dramatic effect and the other man raised an eyebrow.

"Well..." The man said, trying to encourage Tom to continue.

"He said your name, Albus. He said 'Dumbledore'."

Both men turned to look at the boy and the man – Dumbledore – realised the implications of this.

"Well I guess we must get him to a hospital quickly, otherwise he may not wake up to answer our questions."

They talked for a few seconds longer before Tom turned around and headed back to his dingy pub, leaving Dumbledore alone with the boy. When Tom was gone Dumbledore knelt down and got out his wand. He said a few muttered incantations before scooping the surprisingly light boy up into his arms and then the two of them disappeared before reappearing in a clean, sterile white environment. Nobody in the waiting area seemed phased by the fact that a man carrying a child suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Nobody even looked up.

Dumbledore strode over to the receptionist and politely asked for a room and a doctor.

"I'm sorry sir but you need to wait in the waiting room just like everyone else..." Her voice was a high and annoying as she spoke. Her false nails clicked every time she pressed down a key on her keyboard. She had been typing as she spoke but she looked up as she finished to see who she was talking to.

"Oh, Professor Dumbledore, I'm so sorry, I didn't realise it was you, if you would please just go down the hallway and the third door on your left should be empty. A doctor will be with you shortly."

"Thank you." Dumbledore walked down the hallway to the room that the receptionist said to go to and opened the door. The room was indeed empty so he placed the bleed boy down on the bed. He seemed a bit short for his age, which looked about 15, and his pale skin and dirty white hair was quite curious. Dumbledore had never seen anyone quite like him. He would not have noticed if the boy didn't have this unworldly quality about him. There was something, but he couldn't quite place his finger on it...

"Professor Dumbledore, thank you for waiting." A severe looking lady walked in wearing a white coat and carrying a clipboard. Her features were sharp and highly defined and her black hair was pulled tightly back into a severe bun.

"Ah, Dr Winfield, it has been a long time. If you could look over this boy that would be very much appreciated."

Dr Winfield snapped her eyes to the figure on the bed and they widened ever so slightly. Dumbledore walked out of the room as she began her examination.

* * *

Dumbledore waited outside the room for an hour and a half before the doctor finally exited the room.

"Well, I must say Albus, that sure is an interesting child you have there. Any special reason for bringing him to St. Mungo's? I finished checking him over and frankly he should be dead. My biggest concern is the snapped vertebrae at the base of his spine, but his injuries are so extensive it was hard to see just how bad his condition. It doesn't help that he's covered in dirt and mud and goodness knows what else."

"Will he be aright though?" Concern once again flickered in the kind eyes as he thought back to the near dead boy.

"Only time will tell."


	3. Chapter 3

He could smell disinfectant. The area had the whole sterile hospital smell that burned his nostrils. It surrounded and encompassed him, heavy blankets pressing him down, trying to suffocate him. Something stiff and itchy clung to him like a second skin and it felt very uncomfortable. But he recognised the feel of it; they were bandages, and from the feel of it there were a lot covering him. He tried to raise a hand but he couldn't. It was as though he was there but not really there. He felt the throbbing of painful injuries, but they were dull and distant somehow, like he was feeling it through somebody else.

Muffled sounds could be heard around him – the soft beep! Beep! Beep! Of a heart monitor, feet shuffling around pushing things, picking up things. But they sounded as if they were passing through water to reach his ears. He didn't understand it. He knew that he must be in a medical facility of some sort – possibly Squad 4? – but the main question on his tongue was what happened? Had he been attacked by some sort of hollow, probably an arrancar or espada?

He quieted his thoughts and listened to surroundings again, trying to hear a familiar sound so he could place himself and hopefully what happened. He heard muffled voices speaking in low tones, but he didn't understand them, nor did they seem even remotely familiar. He had doubts that they were even speaking in Japanese, though it was hard to distinguish between the sounds they made and the other sounds in the room which seemed to have increased in volume. The more he concentrated on the conversation the louder everything became, until it was thunderous.

The soft beep of the monitor now sounded like clashes of thunder and the shuffling feet scraped along the floor loudly. It kept getting louder and louder and he could feel the injuries becoming more and more painful. Knives were shoved repeatedly through his skull and his skin was alight in fire. It kept getting worse and worse. He couldn't concentrate on anything, he didn't even know who he was it was that intense. Pain and noise crashed down on him like waves on a beach, drenching him.

The beeping sped up and the voices seemed somehow more urgent then they had previously. And then suddenly it stopped and he forced his heavy eyelids to open, almost to be shut again by the blinding white light around him. And it was then he remembered. He remembered everything. He wasn't in Squad 4, that was impossible because there was no more Squad 4. So if that was the case, where on Earth was he?

Hitsugaya groaned as memories pulled him down, but he forced himself to resurface and again looked around without moving his extremely stiff neck. He was definitely in some kind of hospital room, similar to the ones in the living world, but how did he get here. A face intruded in on his vision at that moment, peering intensely at him. She said something that he didn't understand, but there was one word he did, 'Dumbledore'. Realisation hit him as he remembered the alley way and his brief encounter with some grubby looking man holding a tee-towel. That man must have called Dumbledore and then must have brought him hear. That would mean that he would need to fabricate a story a lot sooner than expected and under the influence of some sort of drug.

He could taste residue of the drug still at the back of his throat, but the taste wasn't familiar. That must have been what made him feel disjointed and unconnected with his body. Another face came into view and thankfully it was one he did recognise, only that it was slightly younger than the one that he was used to. It was Dumbledore and he looked quite concerned. Then it hit him that they were speaking in English, which means he was in England. Thankfully he got the location right; hopefully the year was right too.

Since they were speaking in English all Hitsugaya had to do was concentrate slightly and he would understand as he was quite fluent in the language.

"He's awake, but he doesn't seem to understand us. I've asked him the same question – How are you feeling? – five times now and he hasn't answered. How do you even know he even knows English?" The stern looking woman was speaking. She looked like she hadn't been outside for a long time because her skin was really pale. _People who say I'm pale obviously have never met this woman,_ Hitsugaya thought wryly. Dumbledore and the person Hitsugaya could only assume was a doctor continued to talk about his wellbeing, but strangely enough he felt fine. Not two minutes ago he felt agonising pain, but it was as though it had simply washed away, leaving him slightly exhausted and drained but overall fine.

He opened his mouth to say something but all that came out was a groan; his throat too dry and thirsty to manipulate the words he wanted to say. As though sensing this Dumbledore left his field of vision and came back shortly with a plastic cup filled with the cold liquid. He held it up to Hitsugaya's lips for him and he drank the whole cup. It had been ages since he had been able to drink water that tasted so clean and it was heavenly. He had forgotten the simple pleasures which these people took so much for granted, like the water was actually cold and not lukewarm or hot. Dumbledore removed the cup and he and the doctor looked at him expectantly. Once again he opened his mouth and this time he felt the strength to be able to talk fill him. His words were a bit clumsy and awkward in his mouth as he had not spoken many words in months, and he had not spoken English for even longer.

"How did I get here?" The two adults seemed surprised that he had spoken in their own language as they had been sure that he was foreign with no grasp of their words. It was the doctor who spoke first.

"My name is Dr. Winfield and you are presently in a hospital room. This man brought you here from where he found you; you were quite hurt, how did you acquire your injuries?" Hitsugaya resisted the urge to roll his eyes. The description of his location had both been obvious and vague, but that didn't matter because he had a feeling that he was in St. Mungo's hospital. Why they had brought him here and not to a normal muggle hospital he did not know.

"I fell down the stairs," he said. He knew it was the lamest and most unbelievable excuse in the world but it was the best he could come up with in two seconds. The two opposite looked at him incredulously.

"You... fell down the... stairs?" Dr. Winfield seemed to say each word as though weighing their value. She looked at Dumbledore who motioned with his hands. Hitsugaya couldn't see what he did but a second later the doctor was leaving the room so he assumed Dumbledore was asking for some privacy. He pulled up a chair and sat down next to the bed.

"Now, we both know that you can't get that hurt from falling down stairs. You had broken bones all over the place – your arms, foot, ribs and even the base of your spinal cord was broken."

"They were pretty big stairs..." He trailed off as penetrating blue eyes looked at him, demanding the truth.

"It doesn't matter what happened to me, but I did need to speak to you sir."

"I know." The simple admission caught Hitsugaya off guard. How had he known?

"I see confusion on your face. No I am not some sort of mind reader. One of my friends found you in an alley and you said my name. That is why I am here and not my friend. This is a special hospital for special people." So he had been right, he was in St. Mungo's. "And I thought this place would cater more for your needs. But enough about that. You may speak to me if you wish, but first what is your name?" Hitsugaya hadn't realised that he hadn't even introduced himself yet.

"Hitsugaya Toushirou. I come from a magic school in Japan and I would like to become a foreign exchange student at Hogwarts." Dumbledore looked at him. He was impressed because the teen didn't beat around the bush, but slightly unnerved by what he wanted. Foreign exchange students usually had to go through a long and tedious process where a lot of paper work was involved. But this boy wanted to just walk right in. Dumbledore hadn't even known that there was a school in Japan.

"Oh, well, what school do you come from Mr Hitsugaya?"

He thought for a minute, trying to think of a completely plausible story and a believable fabrication of a school.

"Well it's special... I'm not really meant to talk about it but since I want to attend your school I guess I have to trust you. It's not like any other magic school and you probably haven't heard of it before – that's the aim – but it deals with... sword fighting mixed with magic. It teaches the same sort of syllabus but it prepares us for work in the... Special Forces and covert ops, because the government has deemed that anybody with magical abilities must work for them and there is no escaping it unless... you move to another country. That's why I'm here because I don't want to be part of the government system. The school I went to was called... Seireiti School of Magical Fighting." Hitsugaya took a breath and was quite proud of himself. He had thought of that story in under two seconds, making it up as he went along. He just hoped that Dumbledore didn't think that the idea was too lame or unbelievable and that he hadn't noticed the occasional slight pause.

Dumbledore, however, was in no way stupid. He knew that the story given to him was a lie and he seriously doubted that there was even such a school as Seireiti School of Magical Fighting, but he could sense much power brimming beneath the surface of the curious boy and so was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt, only because he wanted to see what the boy could do and also he wanted to keep an eye on him.

There was something about him that set all of his senses into overdrive, telling him that this was a special person who needed his support, but also at the same time that he was dangerous and should be cast aside. Dumbledore had never experienced these conflicting emotions before and wondered what they meant.

"This certainly is an unusual situation that you have put me in Mr Hitsugaya, but right now I have a meeting I must return to. I shall take what you have said into consideration and get back to you with my answer. The best thing for you to do is to rest and get better. I will return shortly, good bye." With that Dumbledore stood up and walked out the door, closing it behind him.

There was something that seemed funny when he had talked to Dumbledore, something that had been said a couple of times, but Hitsugaya couldn't place what had been wrong. He thought about it for a few seconds, puzzled, but he couldn't think of an answer. So he moved onto the most pressing problem – movement. All the while when talking, he had been trying to gain some sort of movement anywhere in his body, but nothing would obey him. It was like somebody had come along and turned him into a statue. He focused on his right hand and started to concentrate, willing it to rise.

He didn't know how long he stayed like that for, and anybody who saw him would think that he was insane, but after what felt like hours his index finger twitched. It was a small movement but i felt like a great victory. He had come to the conclusion that he was for some reason being held down magically, and that made him nervous. He had never liked being restricted or tied, and he especially didn't like it when he didn't know why he was being held. He slowly inched his concentration along his arm, not moving on until there was some form of movement in the area he was looking at.

By the time the doctor came back into the room, the sun shining through the window had been gone for ages and his entire right arm and the start of his left were free. The doctor wasn't the same one that had been in there early with Dumbledore – Dr Winfield was it? – and he had to admit that this doctor liked incompetent. He looked barely out of school with real boyish features on a round pudgy face. He checked vitals and made notes on a clipboard, all the while grinning like a maniac. When he was finished he dropped into the chair that Dumbledore had left by the bed.

"Hey there, I'm Dr Markus, but you can call me Shane if you want." His voice was almost worse than his face. It had the high quality to it that you usually only heard in young boys whose voices hadn't broken yet.

"I was looking at your charts and let me tell you, it was not good reading, if you know what I mean," _No, I don't_ , thought Hitsugaya.

"Like, you were supposedly dead-like, and all mangled and broken, but you look fine to me."

_Go away, leave me in peace._ The guy's voice was starting to grate on his nerves. He had spent all day concentrating and now he just wanted to relax, but he couldn't because some 'friendly' doctor decided that he would keep him company. The boy continued to just drone on and on about random and useless stuff. It was annoying to say the least. It only got worse when the man started to talk about his extremely boring day, dramatising it and sometimes even doing sound effects. _Kill me now_.

"So, were you hungry, do you want something to eat?" It took him a few seconds before he realised that the doctor was speaking to him.

"What? Oh, no thank you, I'm not hungry." His stomach protested and growled as though to say liar. Thankfully 'Shane' didn't hear it.

"Well I've taken up so much of your time when you should have been resting. I'll try and swing by again tomorrow," _Please don't_ , "but for now you rest Mr Toushirou, or can I call you Hitsugaya if that's all right?" He looked expectantly at the teen in the bed. Hitsugaya's eyes widened slightly as he realised something. He mumbled out a yes and a good night so the teen would leave and then he thought. Dumbledore had repeatedly called him 'Mr Hitsugaya', but in Western culture the name that came first was the given name and the second was the family name, but his name was reversed. He _was_ Mr Hitsugaya, but Dumbledore shouldn't have known that. He should have done what the man had done and called him 'Mr Toushirou'. It was puzzling to say the least, what did it mean? But right now, Hitsugaya was tired so he let himself drift off to sleep...

* * *

The door creaked open as Dumbledore entered the decrepit looking house that was number 12 Grimmauld Place. He strode over to the closed kitchen door and walked confidently into the meeting that had been in full swing, but abruptly stopping upon his entry. All faces seemed to relax when they saw who it was. His eyes briefly glimpsed over all the members of the order – The Order of the Phoenix – who were seated around the rough table. There was Sirius Black at the head of the table leaning across Tonks about to speak to Mad-Eye Moody who in turn was sitting next to Arthur Weasley. Severus Snape sat the furthest away from anyone and was in a very polite conversation with Remus Lupin. He saw the twins, Fred and George, whispering to each other, most probably plotting some dastardly deed. Lastly, he saw Molly Weasley fussing over the three youngest non-members of the order, her youngest son Ron, Hermione Granger and Harry Potter.

Everyone in the room waited patiently for Dumbledore to finish his brief survey of the room before he drew up a chair and sat down. They all waited for him to speak, and when they realised that he had no intention of doing so, Sirius was the first to break the silence.

"So... What was so important that you had to leave the meeting early? I mean you weren't gone very long."

Dumbledore thought for a moment before deciding carefully what he was about to say. "I had to meet a very... special person who shall be coming to Hogwarts this year as an exchange student." Complete silence settled over the group. They thought that Dumbledore hadn't looked too sure when he talked about this exchange student. But there were more important things to discuss than some kid, namely Voldemort. It was once again Sirius who broke the silence.

"Ok, so back to the matter on hand. We know that Voldemort is trying to come back and is trying to regain his body. But I just don't see how that's possible. I mean he had the best chance at the end of last year, when he tried to use Harry's blood and the bones of his father, plus other unimportant objects. But since someone, most likely the muggles, had exhumed the body for some kind of scientific research, Voldemort really was up the creek without a paddle. And that spell is the only one that I know of that can let him regain his body. There is absolutely no way humanly possible that he can come back to his former human self. Does anybody else have anything to say?"

At Sirius's words, there were many nodding heads in agreement, but a few were shaking, not agreeing with him at all. One being Severus Snape. The oily haired teacher opened his mouth but everyone else was speaking rapidly, trying to voice their opinions on the matter. To get their attention he slammed his hand down on the desk and it immediately quieted everyone down.

"Yes Sirius, what you say is true, last year was the Dark Lord's best chance to regain humanity, but just because you don't know of any other way does not mean that they do not exist. You do not know everything. There are probably hundreds of ways to make a synthetic body that his soul can inhabit. I mean the body is just a vessel which harbours our souls, what does what the vessel is made out of? Or maybe he could steal another persons' body through magic? There are more ways to gain a body than just one. We are thinking too much inside the square." Everyone was quiet as they contemplated the implications of what Snape had said. He was talking about creating a body, essentially an empty shell, for Voldemort to use. If that was the case he could make it look like anything he wanted and they would lose him before he began his reign of terror, but by then it would be too late.

Sirius started to laugh. It started quiet and then built up into a hearty laugh; many others joined in with him. Only Snape himself, Dumbledore, Hermione and Harry remained quiet.

"That _Snivellus_ is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard in my entire life. Making a body? How many movies do you watch? This is real life; those kinds of things aren't possible. So pull your head out of lala land and help think of what we should do to make the public aware that Voldemort's trying to return."

The argument continued as Harry turned to Hermione.

"Hey, Hermione," he whispered quietly so that no-one, not even Ron, could hear. "Is it possible? I mean what Snape was saying, is it possible?" Hermione worried her bottom lip before replying hesitantly. "I'm not sure. I've never heard of it before, and when you think about it, it does sound kind of outlandish, but... I just don't know. When we go to Hogwarts in three weeks I'll look it up in the library. If there is something on the topic that's the place I'll find it."

"Ok, thanks Hermione."

The argument continued on for another fifteen minutes before Molly decided to put an end to it.

"This is getting us nowhere. We shouldn't be fighting; we should be planning and standing united against our enemy. But anyways, I think that it's high time that everyone gets some rest, it's been a long day for most of us, and I know I for one would love to go to bed." There were murmurs of agreement as the meeting adjourned and everyone left to go to their separate sleeping quarters. Dumbledore bade the group goodnight before heading back to St Mungo's to tell a particular boy that he had granted his request to enter as an exchange student.


	4. Chapter 4

Everything was bright and colourful, sounds whirling about intoxicating all of your senses. It was nauseating. People stopped to chat with each other just for the sake of chatting, even if they sometimes didn’t even know the person with whom they were talking with. But even worse than the sound and the lights and the colour was the heat. Heat seemed to radiate from every brick in the wall, every stone in the pavement and every person that passed him. But unusually enough nobody noticed. Hitsugaya hated it here. He had only been in this terrible street for fifteen minutes, but to him that was fifteen minutes way too long. He was currently standing at the entrance to the bright street with a ridiculous name – What was it again? Diagon Alley? – and he had been standing there ever since he arrived, unwilling to enter into the boiling mob. Dumbledore had told him just over two weeks ago – almost three – that his ‘application’ to enter Hogwarts had been accepted and he was then forced to stay in the sterile environment of the hospital until this morning. Even though he was perfectly fine the doctors wanted to keep him in the hospital for as long as they could, but apparently buying school items was more important than his wellbeing because they finally let him escape. He would’ve rather to have stayed in the hospital; at least there it had been quiet and air-conditioned.

                The list of items that he needed to buy with his none existent money was clutched in his hand. He hadn’t even thought about how he would buy things, but that was a problem that needed sorting out and fast, because without money he was stuck.

                Many people stared as they passed him but he ignored them. He knew that his appearance would draw a lot of attention – it almost always did – but even he wasn’t prepared for the blatant disregard of respect shown towards him. He saw one kid pointing openly with his mouth hanging open wide before his mother dragged him into an open store muttering what sounded like “Freak”.

                He opened his hand and skimmed down the list. He needed everything except for the wand; he already had one of those. His face contorted into a grimace as he saw the words ‘school uniform’ written in a flowing script. He hated school uniforms, and he knew what the Hogwarts uniform looked like and it definitely was not to his taste. He doubted if it was to _anybody’s_ taste.

                Taking a breath and letting it go as a sigh, Hitsugaya finally stepped into the hustle and bustle of the street. His mind was working quickly as he thought of how to get money. And then he realised that he could make some. It was completely illegal but it was really the only option he had. With this in his head Hitsugaya looked for an out of the way place where nobody was around. _Where nobody’s around, ha, and pigs can fly,_ he thought as he looked around. He had heard a lot about this place during the war but he had never been here before. But from what he had heard the street that was at the moment so full of life was dead; a ghost street, with buildings bombed and destroyed, abandoned long before the attack was held in the street. Many Shinigami died in this street and that thought filled him up with sadness.

                Shaking his head he noticed a small side street with no post saying the name. As he drew closer he saw that the sign had been ripped out of the ground as though not to mar Diagon Alley. Escaping down the street and out of Diagon Alley was a relief. This new street that he was in must have had some kind of muting spell on it because he could no longer hear the sounds of the previous street. He slowly walked forward, the hairs on the back of his neck raised. He had the feeling that someone was watching him – or maybe it was a lot of someone’s. The eyes stayed with him as he drew more into the darkness and then he heard movement. It was only a tiny noise, but it was still a noise, the first one he had heard in this eerie street.

                Suddenly out of the shadows stepped an old lady with so many wrinkles it looked like she was wearing an old leather coat or something like that. He couldn’t help but feeling revolted by her. She stepped close to him and raised a gnarled hand to his face. He flinched back and took a couple of steps backwards trying to find the entrance of the street that led back out onto Diagon Alley. There was a reason someone had removed the signpost with the streets name on it, and he definitely got the feeling that he was _not_ meant to be here at all. But it was too late. More shadowed figures stepped out of the shadows to surround him. They drew closer trying to touch him as though to draw his warmth. It felt familiar, this whole situation. The group around him looked half starved and near death, many of them just skin and bones. They were hungry and dangerous. That was his conclusion. The old woman was really close now and he could smell her breath which stank of years of bad breath. But as revolted as he was, he was compelled to stay there, to not attack and run out of this horrible place. He was fascinated by the people and he had no idea why. That is until he remembered what the situation reminded him of. His dream. The memory seemed to break some sort of spell and he felt feeling return to his muscles and he immediately leapt forward, knocking over anyone who got in his way. He ran until he burst back into the brightly lit, hot street and he wondered to himself, which street was worse?

                After all that he still had no money. He continued to walk and the sun moved from its position in the sky in a downwards angle until it was close to evening. He had wasted almost a whole day and he had to go to Hogwarts in two days. Tired and hungry he trudged over to an empty seat and sat down heavily. There were less people in the street and it wasn’t as bright as night descending down, and with the night it brought a cool breeze which played across his face. This was better. When he opened his eyes again it was even darker and there was no one around. He slowly stood up to work out the kinks in his lower back and stretched. He had promised to return to St Mungo’s when he had finished shopping. Oh well.

                He drew out a piece of wood from his jacket pocket and held in his hand. Now was as good a time as any to start making money, what with the street being deserted. He sat down again, but this time on the spotless ground. He looked at the piece of wood he was holding for a moment. Even he had to admit that it was beautiful. A lot of care and devotion had been placed in it and even though it wasn’t his weapon of choice, he didn’t mind using it all that much. He remembered near the start of the war when the wizards had joined, the Shinigami had been in a lot of trouble. They were the superior fighters in every way, but the wizards were cowardly and could summon spells to bind and attack and even to kill that the Shinigami had never even heard of. It had been the one true advantage that they had held. That was until Mayuri had worked out the science behind wands. It was really quite simple. All the wand did was harness the unstable spirit particles in the air, focussing it through the wood. Not as effective or as clean as kidou, but it could still be very powerful. The Sou-Taicho had deemed the advantage to be void as Shinigami already used spirit particles to attack. However, it wasn’t enough and that was when the Shinigami started training with wands. Not everyone did, some either preferred to try their luck with kidou or you got people like Zaraki and Ikaku who used only their swords. But Hitsugaya had been among the ones that had jumped at the chance to gain the upper hand. He had practised with this little piece of wood almost as much as he practised with his Zanpaktou. That was probably the reason why he had become the best magic user among the Shinigami.

                He continued to look at his wand, enthralled by its beauty. It was a light brown colour, but the handle was a soft, powdery ice blue that seemed to extend delicate tendrils along the wand, some almost reaching the end, others not even stretching too far passed the handle. It had been voted the most beautiful wand in all of Seireiti and he could see why.

                He finally pulled himself out of his thoughts and focussed on the task at hand. Making money was easy enough, so he worked steadily through the night. By the time the first rays of dawn were lazily stretching out passed the horizon line, Hitsugaya had accumulated a small fortune in the gold and silver currency. He placed every last coin into a drawstring bag and waited for the shops to open, hopefully before the crowd came.

 

~             ~             ~

 

The shops didn’t start opening for another couple of hours and it was as though everyone knew the exact time that they would open because everyone started to appear as soon as the first shop opened. Hitsugaya stood up and dusted himself off, ignoring the ever present stares. He looked at the list of items that he would need and headed for the shop where he would buy his uniform.

                Inside it was nice and cool if not a little bit cluttered. He carefully picked his way around material and stools before coming to an empty counter. He stood patiently until it became apparent that nobody was going to serve him. Feeling his patience slip away he rapped his knuckles on the counter and called out “hello”. A woman entered through a back door that he hadn’t even noticed and looked at him. He waited and then cleared his throat. She seemed to snap out of whatever she had been thinking and grabbed a tape measure.

                “Hogwarts uniform is it darling?” He resisted the urge to roll his eyes. _Duh_. He nodded his head and before he knew it the tape measure rose as though with a mind of its own before winding itself around his torso. He looked on in fascination as the tape continued to take measurements.

                “So what year will you be in love?” The terms of endearment were starting to get on his nerves.

                “Fifth,” he said trying to refrain from talking to the irritating woman as much as possible.

                “Oh, I don’t remember seeing you here before. And I would like to think I would remember a face like yours.” Hitsugaya didn’t know whether that was an insult or not, but even so he managed to answer.

                “I’m an exchange student; I’ve never been to Hogwarts before.” He silently willed the tape measure to go faster as the woman continued with her chatter. Why must he always be surrounded by annoying, talkative people? As though hearing his thoughts the tape measure finished up and fell lifelessly to the ground.

                “Ok, so I’ll just make you a uniform right up and it will be ready in an hour or so. You can pay when you come back.” She added the last comment as a sort of afterthought when she saw him reach for his money bag.

                “Arigato,” he said without really thinking and the look he received was one of mild curiosity. “Um, I mean thank you.” He left the shop without looking back.

                For the next hour and a half Hitsugaya walked around buying everything on his list – excluding the pet, like he didn’t have enough to think about, he didn’t need to add the well-being of an animal to that list. After everything was bought he made his way back to the uniform shop – Madam Malkin’s Robes for all occasions – lugging his heavy cauldron behind him.

                This time when he entered the shop he noticed that there were other customers. There were a few people browsing through materials comparing colours and patterns, and there was a few people being measured. He dragged his cauldron as he approached the counter. Once again it was empty. He was about to knock like he did last time when he saw the shop keeper measuring someone. She looked over and saw him.

                “Oh, you’re back. Just give me a tick and I’ll get your uniform for you. I left it in the back storage room; you wouldn’t want to go to school without it.” The boy whom she was measuring sneered at him. The other boy had blonde hair and seemed slightly familiar, but he couldn’t place the face. He had slightly angular and sharp features and he looked as though he might be taller than Hitsugaya, but in truth that wasn’t really that hard. Even though he may have grown and looked as though he could be fifteen, he was still on the shorter side of fifteen. The boy opened his mouth to speak.

                “School? Are you talking about Hogwarts? You look a bit too old to be in the first year, don’t you think?” Hitsugaya immediately hated him. He spoke with such an air of self importance as though he thought himself superior. Hitsugaya just half smirked.

                “Yeah, I’m going to Hogwarts, but, even though it’s of no concern to you, I’ll be in the fifth year. I’m an exchange student from Japan.” The sneer remained in place on the other boys face.

                “You’re Japanese? Well that would explain your ridiculous appearance. I knew you couldn’t be from a good country – I bet you’re not even pure-blood are you? Oh by the way, the name’s Malfoy; you’ll probably want to remember that name.”

                Hitsugaya couldn’t believe this boy’s arrogance. And what did he mean by pure-blood, wasn’t all blood the same? Hitsugaya kept his smirk in place; if this boy wanted to think he was better than him, he had another thing coming. Just as he opened his mouth to retort, the shop-keeper came back with his uniform.

                “There you are, that’ll be 5 galleons. Thanks a lot and have fun at Hogwarts.” She practically pushed him out of the shop after she had got his money. It was as though she could sense the beginnings of a fight and didn’t want it to happen in her store. Oh well, there was plenty of time for it at Hogwarts. Hitsugaya still couldn’t believe Malfoy’s arrogance. He knew he shouldn’t broad on it and just forget it, but what kind of person could be that arrogant. He only knew one person who was like that, but he couldn’t quite remember the person’s name... It would come to him.

                Having finished shopping, Hitsugaya was looking for a bench which he could sit down on. The day was once again almost coming to a close and soon he would have to start heading towards Kings Cross Station to get to platform 9 ¾, that in itself was weird, when did people start putting fractions in their platform names? Still deep in thought Hitsugaya didn’t notice two people walking straight towards him. They were obviously not paying attention to where they were going as well and the result was them all crashing into each other. Hitsugaya, being only one person against two much taller people was the one to find himself on the ground of the street, his cauldron next to him with its contents spilling out. The bruise on the base of his spine flared sending shooting pains along his back – maybe he did leave the hospital a bit too early. He had thought it had been completely healed, but apparently the doctors were nowhere near as skilled as those in division 4.

                “Sorry mate didn’t see ya there, want some help up?” Hitsugaya looked up and felt a wave of dizziness hit him as his vision split into two – he was seeing double. There was a person extending his hand with an idiotic grin on his face with a mop of bright red hair that could rival Renji’s any day covering his forehead. Then one of the visions moved forward while the other stayed in the exact same place. That wasn’t right. If he was seeing double then both visions would have moved in sync. Then it was then that he realised he wasn’t seeing double, he was in fact looking at two identical people.

                “He’s not responding George, maybe you hit him so hard he’s like dazed.” The second person stood up properly and dropped his hand.

                “Me? I wasn’t the one who ran into him, it was you!” They continued to bicker good-naturedly as Hitsugaya silently picked himself up off the ground as the two twins forgot about him. He started to clean up his cauldron and school supplies when one of the twins noticed him again.

                “Oh yeah, forgot about you. Hey you look like you have a headache,” he said smiling at his brother. The second twin looked confused at first and then his face split into a wide grin mirroring his brothers, and for some reason Hitsugaya felt as though that grin would bring nothing but trouble to him.

                “You know, we have the perfect cure for headaches – in fact we have a remedy for any ailment that you have – and more. Why don’t you come with us and we’ll help you out.” The last thing he wanted to do was to accompany these obviously insane people, but the matter was taken out of his hands as one of the twins grabbed his cauldron and the other, much to his horror, practically picked him up and started to drag him to some out of the way place. They were talking to each other in low whispers which a normal ear wouldn’t have been able to pick up, but Hitsugaya was no normal human, so he easily heard their conversation, and it did nothing to lighten his mood. They were talking about things like a ‘Fever Fudge’ and ‘Fainting Fancies’ and Hitsugaya frankly did not want to be around when they decided what they would try to sell him. The twins finally found a place that they thought would be suitable for their ‘dealings’ and placed Hitsugaya and his stuff down. They looked at him for a second before they jumped into sales person mode. But just as they were about to speak Hitsugaya cut them off.

                “I have no interest in any product that you wish to sell me, so don’t even try, and no I don’t care how persuasive you try to be, I will not ever be swayed.”

                Two identical freckled faces looked shocked. They had never been out and out rejected like that before, even their brother’s best friend Hermione had listened to their sales pitch, and as they stood shocked Hitsugaya calmly walked away dragging his gear behind him, thinking that would be the end of that. But he did not know the twins in which he had been speaking to. Hitsugaya presented them with a challenge and they liked challenges. He had said he would never be swayed by them, but never was a long time and as the twins knew, it only took some persuading and a lot of annoyingness to change a person’s mind.

                “Hey Fred,” one red head turned to the other.

                “Yeah George?”

                “Did you see what he had with him? If my guess is correct, we’ll be seeing more of our white-haired friend at school, and he so looks like he would love to buy something from us but is unsure if he should do so,” George said with a scheming smile. “We should probably help him decide.”

                The other twin smiled as well. The twins were like a dog with a bone when presented with a challenge, and before the year was up the new student would be begging for Fred and George to sell him something.

 

~             ~             ~

 

Meanwhile, Hitsugaya walked through the crowded streets of Diagon Alley, the terrible duo already out of his mind. Dusk was starting to fall, yet there were still a lot of people around, unlike last night. He paid them no mind though as he walked to the entrance of the Alley. He needed to get to King’s Cross Station and as he had no clue as to where it was he would have to leave now so that he could look for it. The idea of walking through a crime-ridden London, dragging a heavy cauldron packed full of things so he was able to attend a magic school, with looks that always attracted stares no matter where he went, was in way an enjoyable one. However, it was necessary. With a sigh he exited the alley – _and not too soon_ , he thought – and stepped into the dingy pub that was the ‘Leaky Cauldron’. He slowly walked through the pub as people stopped conversations just to look at him. It really was getting old, it wasn’t as though they had never seen a person with white hair – all they had to do was look at an old person!

                When he left the pub the cool night air instantly encompassed him. It was chilly and brisk, and most people hated it, but Hitsugaya loved it. Anything warmer was bordering on uncomfortable for him. At least his walk wouldn’t be totally bad, and he could only hope that he didn’t run into any shady characters.

                As he walked the streets of London, he soon realised that his wish would go unanswered, because it seemed as though every person on the street was a shady character and it was only a matter of time before someone came up to him. It happened when he was walking through a back alley. He had seen a sign pointing to King’s Cross Station and he thought that this way would serve as a sort of shortcut. However, at the end of the run-down alley was a man huddled over an impromptu fire in a can. As Hitsugaya neared, the man looked up and stared at him with one eye – the other eye was closed over as large slash scar ran down from his hairline to just below the eye. The man looked like he had been in a fight many times and never once won.

                Hitsugaya kept walking, not making eye contact, and the man just sat there. It wasn’t until he was level with the man that he heard movement. When he next looked he was pinned against the wall with a knife pressing against his throat. Up close the man looked almost as frightening as Zaraki, with the same sort of crazed look in his eye. However, Hitsugaya was in no way intimidated. The man may think he had the upper hand; it wasn’t like he hadn’t gotten out of worse situations.

                The temperature dropped suddenly, sending a bout of cold air through the narrow alley. Instinct took over as he grabbed the wrist of his attacker, holding it in a death grip and watching the pain across the larger man’s face before a loud _snap!_ was heard. The knife clattered to the ground and the man looked into cold, unforgiving aqua eyes. He never used to be so cold towards an attacker, but years of war had hardened him and he had learnt the hard way that any attacker was your potential murderer. Hitsugaya swiftly brought up his knee into the man’s gut and then punched his face. Blood seeped down from a broken nose and the man crumpled onto the ground clutching his stomach. Hitsugaya could have left then, but as he looked down on the man who had thought a child would be easy prey, he felt disgusted. Next time it wouldn’t be him who was attacked by this man, it would be some other unsuspecting person who probably wouldn’t have the same luck he had and would find themselves at the bottom of some river before daybreak.

                Deciding on a course of action Hitsugaya brought his hand up, a faint blue light gathering at his finger tips. Ice then started to play along his arm as the light in his hand intensified. He slowly lowered his hand until it was on the unconscious man’s back and let the charge from his hand sink into the skin. It was silent, painless, untraceable and completely deadly. The man was dead before Hitsugaya finished standing up. He grabbed his cauldron and continued on his way. _At least that’s one less scum on the streets,_ he thought as he briefly glanced back at the body. He felt a small twinge of guilt. Had it been necessary to kill him? He had already immobilised, why hadn’t that been enough? He shook his head as though to clear away the thoughts; he had been justified, he was protecting other people from a heartless killer. The man had not suffered and everyone would be better for it.

                With this reasoning he walked forward with a clear conscious.

 

~             ~             ~

 

Back in the alley a cloak swished as the silent observer turned and walked away. As they walked they pulled out a cell phone and dialled three numbers. The phone on the other end rang three times before it was picked up.

“Hello, emergency service.”

“I need a police car at junction alley on Caledonian Road, there’s something there that I’m sure you’ll find very interesting.” The person hung up before listening to a reply and continued to walk away from the scene of the crime.

 

~             ~             ~

 

Hitsugaya was pleasantly relieved to find that he was actually quite close to King’s Cross Station. The best thing about the station was that it was open 24/7, so he walked into the nicely air-conditioned place and went to find a chair where he would finally be able to rest for a short time before finding his platform.


	5. Chapter 5

                Hitsugaya sat on the bench for close to two hours. When the sun rose above the horizon line bathing the city of London in the soft, warm light of dawn he stood up and stretched his slightly stiff muscles. He looked down at his cauldron stuffed full of his school supplies when a realisation dawned on him: he would need a school trunk and spare non-school uniform clothes, plus anything extra he would probably need like a toothbrush. Groaning and looking up at the large clock hanging down from the ceiling he worked out that he would have about three and a half hours to get everything he would need and be back in time to board the train – and he still had no idea where Platform 9 ¾ was. He was going to cut it very close.

                He spotted a trolley bay, and snagging one he loaded his cauldron onto it and started to push it towards the front doors. Hopefully security wouldn’t notice the white-haired boy casually stealing their trolley. As he left the station he was immediately pulled into a very large, busy mob of people going in every direction, pushing and shoving to get to their destinations in as little time as possible. This made navigating the streets ten times harder – also the fact that he didn’t know where the shops were nor had any idea where he would start looking made it even harder, bordering on impossible. But Hitsugaya Toushirou didn’t do impossible, so picking a direction he pushed through the mob and looking for any signs of a shop.

                The morning wore on long and uneventful. Two hours had passed and Hitsugaya had only managed to buy the bare toiletry necessities – including a toothbrush, towels, shampoo and conditioner, soap and a brush. He still was yet to find a decent clothes store. As the morning had had progressed the already crowded streets – if possible – got even fuller as more people joined the crowd. And then he saw it. It was a mall and as he knew from the countless times that Matsumoto had dragged him to the hated places mall’s sold clothes. It was like a godsend.

                The mall was massive. Hitsugaya stood in the entrance to what was probably the largest shopping complex he had ever been to in his long life, with his stolen trolley to his side. A small smile graced his features as he took in the numerous stores, but then he remembered he was on a time limit and time was very quickly running out. So without further ado, he pushed his trolley to find a good shop.

                He visited shop after shop after shop, his trolley getting slightly more full after each shop until it was packed full with no possibility of fitting even one more item in. Inside said trolley he inspected a beautiful ornate oak trunk and more clothes than he probably needed – but you never know what will happen, so it’s best to be prepared, and also it wasn’t like he could wear the same thing week in and week out for a year. That thought sobered him up. Until this moment he had nearly forgotten why he was here, too giddy with new experiences, but he had a mission and more likely than not it would take a whole year to complete. His hands balled into fists, his knuckles straining white against the skin. The air-conditioned air seemed to become even cooler than before, the temperature dropping ever so slightly.

                _Stop it! You have more control over yourself than this, get a grip!_ The temperature rose back to what it had been before. It seemed nobody had noticed what had happened for which he was glad, and he was happy that he was able to control himself before the full force of unwanted memories had hit him, because if that had happened a lot of people would probably have been frozen solid. He let out a calming breath and looked at the clock in the mall and he stopped dead. He only had 15 minute left to get back to King’s Cross Station, find 9 ¾ and board the train. How had he let time slip away like that? Actually, a better question would be how did he let himself get into this position in the first place? He should have been more prepared and bought everything yesterday and a day before today, and now he would have to rush to make the train in time. It really was not his day today.

                Ignoring dirty looks and words sent his way, Hitsugaya pushed through the crowds at a fast pace with his trolley, bursting out into the bright sunshine in the street. He was consciously aware of the time slowly trickling away, so much so that it was almost like a rhythmic _tick, tick_ , in his head. He practically ran through unsuspecting shoppers as he tried to retrace his steps. As he ran he cursed himself for what was happening, but the bright side was that he had bought almost everything he would need, and anything else could be bought while at school. He saw the station dead ahead and he just knew that he would make it in time and that everything would be fine. But unfortunately for Hitsugaya luck was not on his side and as he burst into King’s Cross Station he realised the hopelessness of it all. There was one minute left until the train departed and he didn’t even know where the stupid platform was! It was ridiculous to even have expected to make it in time, but he had seriously thought that he would. As he stood in his own self misery for what seemed like hours but in reality was only seconds he noticed something unusual. It was like a tingling sensation running through him, not unpleasant but definitely weird. What was it?

              He hesitantly walked forward and the tingling increased. It seemed to be caused be a seemingly innocent looking brick wall... third on after Platform 9 and the one before Platform 10 – tree quarters of the way between Platforms 9 and 10. He was an idiot; of course the wizards would want to protect their Platform from non-wizards. He walked up to the wall and raised his hand and pressed against the wall. But his hand never came into contact with the solid mass, instead going straight through. Without a second thought he stepped through to see a large sign reading Platform 9 ¾. He smiled to himself – he had made it just in time. That smile however, was instantly wiped off his face when he noticed the train start to move ever so slowly. This was _not_ his day.

                “Oh no you don’t,” he growled softly to himself before racing forward. “Wait!” A man had been standing on the step in front of one of the train doors about to go in when he saw the late student running towards him. Confusion briefly ran across his face before he realised that the student needed to be on the train, not running up to it. When Hitsugaya drew level with the train, which was still at a snail’s pace, he looked at the man before speaking.

                “Um, yeah, so I got up late, is there any way I can get on the train?” The boy spoke as he ran, not even sounding the slightest out of breath. The shocked man took a second to reply.

                “I guess you should just... throw your stuff up to me and then jump on yourself.” This situation was clearly above his pay-grade and Hitsugaya suppressed the urge to roll his eyes; the suggestion of stopping the train hadn’t even been acknowledged. He awkwardly grabbed his trunk with one hand while still pushing the trolley. It was quite an amazing feat, one which should have been impossible, but the man didn’t show any extra surprise, probably because extra surprise would just break his face in half. Hitsugaya was just glad that he had the foresight to pack everything into his trunk before leaving the mall. He next grabbed his cauldron, abandoning the trolley which proceeded to roll under the wheels of the train. _Whoops._ He threw the cauldron up and once again the man caught it. Now with his entire luggage on the train Hitsugaya got ready to jump up when the train sped up. It was now gaining speed quite rapidly and he had a hard time keeping up. _Damn it!_ He would not be foiled by a stupid train. He had come too far to be defeated by something as simple as the speed of a train. So with this in mind, Hitsugaya did what no human would ever be capable of – he jumped up high into the air and crashed onto the side of the train, the air in his lungs momentarily knocked out. Once he could breathe normally again he scaled the train side looking for a door, but he couldn’t find one. The train had long since left the station and was travelling through what looked to be the outskirts of London. And then he saw it. _It_ being a very narrow tunnel that would kill him if he stayed on the side of the train like this. God, this situation was ridiculous! What was up with today? The tunnel was rapidly approaching and Hitsugaya wouldn’t be able make it to a door in time and he really didn’t come all this way to die on the side of a train like some kind of insect. So he did the next best thing – he found a window and he smashed through it; hopefully the room would be empty – and he did so not a moment too soon, because as soon as he went through the window the train entered the tunnel. He slowly stood up, glass crunching underfoot and he knew that he shouldn’t have hoped for an empty room, luck was not something he was having a lot of today. The room’s occupants stared at him with wide, shocked eyes as they looked at this strange looking boy that had come in through the window. There were three people – two girls and one boy. One of the girls had extremely bright red hair and she vaguely reminded him of the two twins that he’d met in Diagon Alley. The boy was gaping openly and his eyes were blinking way too much to be normal, Hitsugaya just hoped he wasn’t going to have a heart attack and die – this situation was already hard enough to explain. The third person however, looked at him with strange blues eyes filled with curiosity. He wasn’t surprised that she was the first to break the long awkward silence.

                “Hello, you do realise that there’s a perfectly good door right there don’t you? Why did you enter through the window?” Her voice was as peculiar as the rest of her, with an odd airy quality to it. Not really knowing what to answer, he said the first thing that he could think of.

                “I was late and missed the train; decided that it would be best to actually arrive _on_ the train and so I hitched a ride on the side. But when the tunnel got closer, I realised that I needed to be in the train or I would probably have been squashed between a few tonnes of metal and a few tonnes of concrete.” His explanation did nothing to lighten the mood. If anything it seemed to make it even worse, as though they were expecting him to say ‘kidding!’ and give them a better, more reasonable explanation. Because to them it was impossible for someone to have been able to hold onto the outside of the train and not lose their grip what with the high speeds the train was travelling at. When Hitsugaya didn’t say anything like that and instead sat down, they realised, as impossible as it may be, that he was telling the truth.

                “Uh... Hi, I’m Ginny Weasley and this is Neville Longbottom and Luna Lovegood.” Hitsugaya glanced at the red head speaking and then at the two people who she had just introduced. When he looked at the boy named Neville he sputtered and managed a small “h-hi,” before quickly averting his eyes from the intimidating person. Hitsugaya nodded slightly at Ginny to acknowledge her before briefly stating his name.

                “Hitsugaya Toushirou.” He turned away from her and stared out the glassless window, hoping that she would recognise the dismissal. Apparently she wasn’t stupid and neither were the other two because they all ignored him and an uncomfortable silence descended upon them.

                They sat like this for around half an hour before the silence was broken by someone opening the door.

                “Bloody hell! What happened?” Hitsugaya glanced up to see a tall red head who bore a striking resemblance to Ginny. There were also two people behind him but he couldn’t quite see who they were. The tall boy looked around, his gaze taking in the broken glass scattered on the floor, the nervous looks on Ginny’s and Neville’s faces, the glassless window, and then finally resting on Hitsugaya. Their eyes locked and he it was a mini-staring contest of sorts before the other boy broke it off. Hitsugaya smirked inwardly, he never lost a staring contest, no matter who the opponent.

                “Who the bloody hell are you?” He advanced forward in what he tried to be a menacing manner before Ginny – who he had gathered to be a relation of the boy – grabbed his arm stopping him in mid swagger. Hitsugaya slightly raised his eyebrows at his extremely poor attempt at an intimidating gangster walk.

                “Ron, stop it,” Ginny said to the boy Ron. As he walked further into the room the two people behind him walked in and his heart stopped. The temperature dropped drastically as Hitsugaya – his expression unchanged – laid eyes on his sole reason for being here; one of the people he hated most in the whole world, Harry Potter. Images unexpectedly stole into his head as he looked at the boy, but his eyes seeing only the man.

                _Hitsugaya watched as he was held back, the arm of a despicable espada holding him in place. He could see Aizen casually sitting on his throne of white watching the scene before him. He essentially had at his mercy himself and half of his division, after being captured on a scouting raid in Hueco Mundo. It had taken nearly five espada to bring him down, but now he was held by only one as a complex magical binding held him at bay. The caster of the spell stood off to the side just in front of the dais on which Aizen’s throne rested – General Harry Potter. Green eyes blazed in the darkness as he looked at Hitsugaya’s struggling subordinates coldly, a small smirk gracing his features, waiting for the word. Aizen smiled and looked at Hitsugaya, their eyes briefly meeting and hatred coursed through his veins as he looked up at the monster that once dared to call himself Shinigami. He parted his lips and said almost playfully, “Kill all the subordinates, leave the Captain.” Hitsugaya’s eyes widened as the mindless slaughter began. General Potter had whipped out his wand and was casting spells at each of the remaining members of Division 10 without mercy. One by one they fell screaming to the ground, writhing in agony to just be put out of their misery a few seconds later as a secondary curse hit them. He couldn’t watch but he couldn’t look away. The temperature dropped dramatically as he watched his trusted squad, those that had respected and looked up to him; those that he should have protected from this beast, fall and die before him, he let out a yell and frost erupted covering the walls, ceiling and floor. The blast of reiatsu that followed was enough to crush the arrancar present and he felt a twisted sense of satisfaction as he watched them fall to the ground dead._

_His eyes glowed and he tore free from his bindings, but he was too late, they were already dead, all of them. He wasn’t so far gone in his rage to know that he needed to get back to Soul Society, to regroup with Matsumoto and the measly remainders of the once proud 10 th Division._

_So with a quick, hate-filled glance at Aizen he stepped forward before disappearing from sight as he used his shunpo. The espada in the room immediately went to take chase but Aizen held up his hand stopping them._

                Hitsugaya was torn from his memory as he continued to stare at the boy with bright green eyes and Harry just stared back as though he didn’t know what to do.

                “So, are you going to just stare at us all day, or are you going to tell me who the bloody hell you are?” The silence was broken and Hitsugaya looked across Ron, but still said nothing.

                “Um... Well I’m Harry Potter, it’s nice to meet you.” Harry stepped forward and held out his hand. Hitsugaya took a deep breath as he looked at the hand. This was what he was here for, but now that it was actually happening he wasn’t sure if he was capable or strong enough to do it. The cries of his division rang in his ears as they died and he once again looked up at Harry, his resolve strengthened. He could do this; he had to do this. He wouldn’t let what has already happened happen again. Forcing a smile Hitsugaya reached up and, hesitating only very slightly, shook Harry’s hand.

                “Hitsugaya Toushirou and the pleasures... all mine.” He let go of Harry’s hand and turned back towards the window. The crunch of shoes on glass alerted him to someone approaching; he just ignored them. The seat dipped ever so slightly as they sat next to him and he finally looked up, aqua eyes meeting brown. The person was smiling at him and his eyes widen fractionally. He felt as though he’d been hit by a train; he knew that face, the kind, warm smile that went right up to big brown eyes. Her brown hair fell just past her shoulders- a bit longer than he remembered, but there was no mistaking it, he knew that face and he knew that person. She was-

                “Hi, I’m Hermione Granger; it’s nice to meet Hitsugaya. Hogwarts is amazing, I know that you’ll love your first year here; it really is something amazing.” She continued to smile at him as he stared at her – staring was something he was doing a lot lately. He really should have been expecting it, to see her here, but he hadn’t and he was surprised as he looked at Hermione Granger, sad emotions flitting through his body. To look at the dead and to see them once again alive and then to live with them when they had no clue as to who you are – that wasn’t going to be hard, it would be torture. Unable to articulate a suitable response to Hermione’s statement he just half grunted and once again looked away; he needed to collect his thoughts.

                Harry watched as the peculiar white-haired boy looked out the window after turning away from Hermione. It had been weird when he’d looked into those intense eyes, it was as though they were trying to look into his very soul and he had felt quite uncomfortable. Fortunately he had looked away and sat down. He could hear Ginny telling Ron to quiet down and to stop swearing so much – “What do you think mum would think?” She had said and he just looked down sheepishly – but Harry was by far more interested in Hitsugaya Toushirou than he was in Ron. He watched as Hermione introduced himself and he noticed how it was like a kind of recognition flew across the boys face, as though he somehow knew one of Harry’s best friends. Harry was actually a bit relieved when he saw Hitsugaya look away from Hermione and ignore her, there was just something about the boy that rubbed him the wrong way, but he couldn’t put his finger on it.

                The remainder of the trip was pretty uneventful, except for one part when Neville had showed them all his new plant – a Mimbulus Mimbletonia – and it had exploded sending stinksap flying all over everyone in the room. Harry could have sworn he had felt the temperature drop to a colder degree, but he thought it was probably one of the things that the disgusting plant did. After that the smell in the room had been almost unbearable, but as they neared the school the smell had started to dissipate.

                Hitsugaya gazed out the window, the wind playing in his hair. The castle could be seen just in the distance, standing tall and proud with little lights shimmering against the backdrop of night sky and stars. It was magnificent; breath-takingly beautiful. As he pulled his gaze back into the room he noticed that all the students had changed into their uniforms – how they had done that without him noticing he had no clue.

                “Hey, Hitsugaya, you should get changed, we’ll be there soon.” He just nodded his head in the direction of the speaker without moving. He had no idea as to where his luggage was, but that was okay. His clothes no longer stank as the putrid pus-like liquid from the plant had been discreetly cleaned off using a simple cleaning kidou, leaving his black polo shirt and blue jeans looking as though he had only just got them out of his wardrobe.

                The rain slowed to a stop and everyone started to exit the exit their compartments. He had been expecting an orderly and calm exit from the train considering the amount of students there were, but instead it was like somebody had yelled _‘Fire!’_ Children pushed and shove, fighting their way out of the small confines of the corridors. He hung back, waiting for the stampede to pass before stepping out into the corridor. He couldn’t help but look back into the train compartment and smile at how crazy the other occupants in the room must think he is. They hadn’t thought that he could hear them, but he could, as they whispered about his unexpected entrance and then his attitude afterwards. Oh well, they can think what they want to think, it didn’t bother him. As he left the train he couldn’t help but marvel once again at the beauty of Hogwarts. A picturesque scene lay before him as the castle stood silently surrounded by a dark, glistening lake. He could make out some carriages not too far away and students seemed to be getting into them. What was weird about them, though, was that the horses pulling them were extremely unusual in appearance, looking almost dead as they appeared to be just bones with skin pulled tautly across them. They had a sort of unnerving beauty about them that seemed right at home in Hogwarts, but the strangest part was nobody seemed to care about their appearance, some people ignoring them altogether. He guessed that they must be so used to them by now that they didn’t even notice the beauty. He turned away and searched for a teacher who could tell him where to go. It didn’t take long for his good eyes to spot the teacher down by the docks with a bunch of younger children standing around her.

                “First years! First years this way!” Hitsugaya picked his way through the crowd and reached the teachers side. She glanced at him. Hitsugaya stepped cleared his throat, drawing her full attention to him.

                “Excuse me, but I don’t know where to go. You see I’m a new exchange student.”

                “Exchange student... Oh yeah, now I remember. I was told to look out for you. I’m Professor Grubbly-Plank and you’ll come with me on the boats so that you can get sorted into a house.” Hitsugaya nodded his head in understanding. They waited a little longer until all students were where they were meant to be before the first year students plus Hitsugaya boarded the boats. Apparently Hitsugaya’s looks intimidated the little first years as nobody wanted to share a boat with him, so he ended up being by himself on the trip up to the castle. That was fine by him. Strange shadows moved through the water under his boat and the wind whipped up around him, the darkness and cool air like a blanket around him. He could stay out there all night, but that was not to be as the boat drew up to the shore of Hogwarts, the castle looming over them as though emphasising its grandeur. He stood up out of the boat and made the small trek up the small hill to reach the massive oak doors of the school. Apparently none of the other students thought that it had been a small trek, nor had the hill been small, as they all but collapsed on the ground, small breathing deeply while others stood trying to catch their breath. Hitsugaya felt slightly disgusted at their display of extreme levels of unfitness.

                The doors to the castle opened halfway and Professor Grubbly-Plank ushered the students into the school, the doors creaking shut behind them. Excited and nervous whispers could be heard as the small students brimmed with excitement; they walked down a corridor before stopping once more in front t of a large oak door, though much smaller than the last one. The door opened soundlessly and he prepared to enter when a solitary figure stepped out, closing the door behind her. She was a tall witch wearing dark robes and a pointed hat, with a stern expression firmly in place that clearly said “I’m not someone to be trifled with.” Her presence immediately commanded the attention and respect from the first years surrounding Hitsugaya and he had to say that he was impressed. He knew how hard it was to command respect, especially from respectless eleven year old brats.

                “Welcome to Hogwarts, I am Professor McGonagall, Head Mistress of Hogwarts. The start of term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. While at Hogwarts your house is somewhat like your family. You will eat together, have classes together, share a common room and sleep in the same dormitories. The four houses are Slytherin, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Gryffindor. Each house has its own special characteristics which define them, and it is these characteristics which will be looked at to determine which house you shall be best suited for. I hope you each of you will be a good addition to whatever house you are placed in. Now before we enter the hall where is Hitsugaya Toushirou?” Hitsugaya walked forward. He had been mildly impressed with the speech, even if it had been dumbed down and directed at children who probably wouldn’t have even noticed if the only thing the teacher had said was ‘Welcome to Hogwarts.’ Professor McGonagall indicated for him to follow her as she led him into a small room to the side.

                “Now, before I say anything else, I just want to clear something up. Which is your first name?”

                “Toushirou. I’m Japanese so they say the names in reverse.” He had not been expecting that question at all.

                “Okay, I thought so; I just had to make sure. Now, Mr Hitsugaya, you’re the first exchange student that the school has accepted in close to ten years and as such there is a certain standard of behaviour that we expect here at Hogwarts. This year the school’s movements are being closely monitored by the Ministry of Magic and questions about your transfer have already been brought up. So as well as behaving in a proper and accepted manner, the Headmaster also requests that you keep a low profile and try not to do anything that will cause you undue attention. Is that understood?” Hitsugaya nodded. He was about to ask a question about why Hogwarts movements were being watched, but McGonagall was already leaving the room so he had no choice but to follow. When they rejoined the larger group McGonagall went to the front and the students quieted down. A few people glanced his way with curious faces but he ignored them.

                “We shall enter the Great Hall now, and you shall be on display for the entire school, so please try to behave accordingly.” She turned towards the door and pushed them open. Light instantly hit Hitsugaya as it poured out of the enormous room. The architecture was superb, with a domed ceiling that appeared to have no end as it was consumed by what looked like the night sky. McGonagall walked across the room, now carrying a stool, a tattered hat and a scroll. _Did she have them before?_ Hitsugaya wondered to himself before brushing it off as unimportant. These people were magical, anything was possible with them. The first years trailed behind the Professor like lost sheep; as she reached the centre of the room she placed the stool down and the hat on top. It was as though everyone held their breath, waiting for something to happen. The first years didn’t know what to expect and Hitsugaya himself was curious. And then a rip appeared in the bottom of the hat and something that should have been impossible happened – the hat started to sing.

                The song was a long one, first describing the four houses and the qualities in each one, but nearer to the end it started to give a warning:

 

Though condemned I am to split you

Still I worry that it’s wrong,

Though I must fulfil my duty

And must quarter every year

Still I wonder whether sorting

May not bring the end I fear.

Oh, know the peril, read the signs,

The warning history shows,

For our Hogwarts is in danger

From external, deadly foes

And we must unite inside her

Or we’ll crumble from within

I have told you, I have warned you...

Let the Sorting now begin.

 

As soon as the song finished, Professor McGonagall unrolled her scroll and started to read names. The first person walked forward and sat down on the stool, the hat placed on her head. Hitsugaya narrowed his eyes. From the sound of the older students the warning in the hat’s song was just as different for them too. What had it meant by ‘External, deadly foes’? Was this somehow related to what would happen at the end of this year if he doesn’t stop it? He would just have to keep his eyes more alert for danger – if it was possible to get any more alert.

                The hat which sat on the girl’s head suddenly spoke, saying one word in a loud, clear voice,

                “Hufflepuff!” The girl stood up and walked towards the table cheering the most, a table with the colours of yellow and black. _Like a bee,_ he couldn’t help but think randomly to himself.

                The numbers of the first years dwindled until only he was left. All the students watched him as he stood and waited, whispering among themselves. His sensitive hearing picked up things like, “Look at his hair, that cannot be natural!” and “He’s a little too old to be a first year, though he is short enough.” He scowled. He was NOT short. He had grown a few inches and he was quite proud of his achievement, especially when Unahana... He broke off that line of thought and looked up at Dumbledore who had just stood up, quieting the kids.

                “This year is a bit different, because as you can see we have a new student. That in itself is not new, but Mr Hitsugaya will not be starting in the first year, he is a transfer student from Japan and shall be in the fifth year.” An eruption of noise was heard after this statement and Hitsugaya just stood calmly while they were once again quietened down. McGonagall called his full name and he stepped up to the stool and sat down. The hat was placed over his head, slipping a bit past his ears.

                He sat silently for what seemed like forever before he felt it – someone or something was attempting to look into his memories. And he realised to his horror that they were succeeding. Where was Hyourinmaru? He could still feel the comforting presence of the ice dragon in his mind, but he was making no move to stop the intruder. Hitsugaya relaxed slightly; that meant that whatever it was Hyourinmaru had decided it not to be a threat. But that didn’t mean he was comfortable with a stranger looking at his memories.

                He heard a faint chuckle and it took everything he had not to jump or move in the slightest.

                “Well, well, well, you are an interesting one aren’t you Toushirou? From the look of your mind you’re not even alive, nor are you even from this time. It is rather interesting. But I can’t seem to be able to put you into a house, because you see courage, bravery, cunning, loyalty, acceptance, slyness, intelligence – you have them all. Though I must say I’ve never in all my years seen someone with a mind as brilliant as yours – I can see why you were called a child prodigy – perfect for Ravenclaw. But your heart is filled with hate and thoughts of revenge fill your mind – that could very well place you in Slytherin. You have endless loyalty suiting you to Hufflepuff, but at the same time you need large amounts of courage just to do what you did everyday; to do what you’re doing now, trying to fix everything which is a trait of the mighty Gryffindor. Hmm... What house do you want to be in?” Hitsugaya thought for a minute, before realising that it would be pointless if he wasn’t in the same house as Harry, so that answered that question.

                “I want to be in whatever house Harry Potter is in.” Hitsugaya felt rather than saw the rip form once again in the bottom of the hat and the one word boomed through the Great Hall, ringing loudly in Hitsugaya’s ears.

                “GRYFFINDOR!”

                Hitsugaya stood up and made his way to the Red and Gold house that were clapping quite vigorously, if not a little hesitantly. He slid down into his seat as Dumbledore started making before school announcements. However, half way through he was interrupted by an annoying fake cough. The woman who made said cough stood up and Hitsugaya immediately felt like being sick. He had never seen so much pink in his entire life, and that was saying something because he knew Matsumoto. The woman introduced herself as Dolores Umbridge and that she was from the Ministry of Magic. _Figures,_ he thought.

                After all speeches were made dinner appeared magically on the plates and Hitsugaya started to eat dinner. Along the table harry pulled a slice of pie towards him on autopilot, his thoughts drifting back to the sorting. Toushirou may not have realised, but his sorting had taken way longer than was usually taken, lasting almost five minutes. It was very puzzling. Also, even if he didn’t know the transfer student very well, Harry wouldn’t have picked Griffindor as the house that the hat would put him in. He ate the rest of dinner on autopilot as he thought about the white haired boy again. He was strange and probably crazy – he would have to be to have clung to the side of a moving train. Crazy or he had a death wish to die in the most insane way possible.

                As dinner finished Harry waved a vacant bye to Ron and Hermione who, as Prefects, had to direct the first years to the Gryffindor Common Room. He felt a twinge of jealousy as he thought of the position that should have been his. What was Dumbledore thinking? Ron wasn’t even capable of looking after himself let alone other people; it really wasn’t fair. He felt himself getting more jealous, bubbling up to the surface. He worked hard and he did more things to save everyone than Ron could ever dream of. He was walking in this jealous state when he felt a hand on his arm. He looked up into the intense aqua eyes and he just wanted to get away from them as quickly as possible.

                “I don’t know the school Harry; can you show me to the Gryffindor Common Room?” It was a simple question, but Harry couldn’t help but think there was another ulterior motive behind the question and that made him uneasy.

                “Uh, sure. It’s just this way.”

                Hitsugaya was glad that he’d found Harry when he did, the black haired boy was exuding a very dark aura that had only been getting darker. If this was how he was before school had even started than he would definitely have his work cut out for him, that was for sure.

                The two walked in an uncomfortable silence before Harry spotted the common room.

                “So this is it, the password’s Mimbulus Mimbletonia. Uh, bye.” Harry darted away into the recently opened portrait hole and entered what was probably the hottest, most uncomfortable room he had ever been in. It was so hot it was almost a struggle to breathe. He hastily made his way up to the Dormitories and saw door with his name on it. Entering in he found little respite as the room was just as hot as the one before it had been. He hastily made his way to each of the seven floor length windows in the room opening them all, allowing the cool night breeze to lower the temperature to a more comfortable level. Once he was reasonably satisfied he looked for his bed. To his pleasure it was furthest away from the door and right next to a window. He slowly sank down into the soft mattress and lay down. It had been a long and unlucky day and he had a feeling that it would only get worse. As his eyelids drooped he couldn’t help but think that tomorrow would be the start of a _very_ long year. His eyes closed and he fell into an uneasy sleep.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay, three chapters at once ^_^ I felt bad for the delay, so here you go!

                _“Hey Taicho, you know what would be a great idea? If we went to the spas! Isn’t that just the best idea you’ve heard?” Matsumoto lounged on the couch in the Tenth Division office. Hitsugaya raised an eyebrow but ignored her. He steadily filled out the papers covering his desk, nearly double what any other captain had to do all because of a certain unnamed lazy vice-captain who did nothing but lounge all day and go to... spas. He sighed._

_“Taaiicchhoo!” Matsumoto flopped down across his desk and looked at him with wide puppy dog eyes._

_“You’ve been working awfully hard Taicho; I think you deserve a break.” That was it, her incessant whining was grating on his nerves as his eyebrow twitched. The temperature dropped slightly to try and warn her to leave, but she didn’t take the hint._

_“I was talking to Renji the other day and did you know that the spas are the most relaxing place in Soul Society? He said that by going there you find some kind of inner peace that helps you talk to you Zanpaktou. Isn’t a good thing I’m always over there instead of losing touch with Haineko and doing boring paper work?”_

_“Matsumoto, I have no time to go with you, this work needs to be finished by this afternoon! Now stop annoying me and do. Your. Paperwork. NOW!” The temperature dropped even lower and Matsumoto, knowing how to cut her loses and leave, escaped from the room, only pausing long enough at the door to say, “Maybe tomorrow then Taicho?” before shunpo-ing away._

_“MATSUMOTO!” Hitsugaya’s yell could be heard through all of the tenth division. With a small smile he looked back down at his work. He wasn’t really angry at Matsumoto, he actually didn’t even mind when she occasionally skipped on her paperwork... but man that woman was lazy!_

_He worked steadily and after five more hours of doing nothing but paperwork he was finished. Not many other people would have been able to do that insane amount of work in only a few hours, but he wasn’t called a work-a-holic for nothing. Thoroughly pleased with himself he allowed himself to take the opportunity to relax. Just as he closed his eyes he heard a small thrum coming from just outside his door. He ignored it. The thrum grew slightly louder so it kind of sounded like a drum. Again he ignored it. It was probably Matsumoto trying to annoy him, but it wasn’t going to work – not this time at least. Once again the sound grew slightly louder and now it sounded like boots on the ground running. It really was strange, but Matsumoto had to do way better than that to annoy him. The sound stopped and he smiled._ She must have gotten bored and gone back to her stupid spa. I win. _Someone screamed. Hitsugaya jumped out of his chair so quickly that it toppled over. He used his flash step to reach the door and he just about pulled it off its hinges. If this was Matsumoto’s idea of a joke she would be in so much trouble!_

_He exited through the damaged door and was... standing in front of the Kurosaki Clinic? That wasn’t possible. He hesitantly walked forward. The street was quiet, almost eerily so, and he just go a very bad feeling overall. He walked forward and had his hand resting on the doorknob to enter when the whole front of the building exploded. He was sent flying through the air but surprisingly – impossibly more like it – he was unharmed. He was lying in a ditch and he could see everything that unfolded._

_Ichigo flashed into his vision, an arrancar – no espada – not two seconds behind him. The two were in a heated battle with various injuries adorning each body. Ichigo was clearly exhausted but he continued to fight._

_“Go ichi-nii, beat him down!” Hitsugaya’s head snapped round to the front of the destroyed building. Standing in front of it was Kurosaki’s sisters, Karin and Yuzu, and they were yelling encouragements to him. Just then a stray cero missed Ichigo and blasted both girls, instantly annihilating them beyond recognition. Ichigo screamed and a hollow mask started to form over his face. But it came too late. A sword was plunged through his gut and torn upwards and Ichigo fell to his knees choking on his own blood. Hitsugaya tried to yell out to him, to reach out and help him; support him. But he was unable to do anything but lie there and watch. The espada laughed with his head thrown back, glee written all over his face. It was sickening to watch how much pleasure he was getting from killing Ichigo. Ichigo grabbed his Zanpaktou in both his hands and tried one last attempt at killing his opponent. He missed. He fell face forward and lay still, blood pulling around him. A scream was heard reverberating through the street._

_“ICHIGO!”_

_Kuchiki Rukia arrived at Ichigo’s side and lifted his head up with tears rolling down her face._

_“Get up baka. Please” The last part she whispered and Ichigo ever so slowly opened his eyes halfway._

_“I’m... sorry.” Rukia held him close and then looked at the espada with hatred rolling off her very being. The espada just sneered at her as his hand glowed red before he threw a cero at her and Ichigo. They died together in each other’s arms._

_Hitsugaya was shocked; he didn’t know what to do. He still couldn’t move so he couldn’t go over to his fallen friends. He had been the stronger out of the three of them and he should have protected them, not just lie back and watch them die; that seemed to have become a habit of his. The espada fled the scene before once more sneering at the dead Shinigami. Hitsugaya looked down and realised why he was unable to move; the explosion had sent flying and he had landed on a piece of glass. He grasped the blood stained glass and ripped it from his back. He could have sworn that it hadn’t been there when he had looked down when he first landed. This whole situation didn’t make sense. When the glass was out of his back it was as though he was magically cured. He got up and walked towards Rukia and Ichigo, horror and shock present on his face. They had been good fighters and very good friends and they would be missed by everyone. But something wasn’t right in this situation. He remembered it quite clearly; he had been there after all. But when he had fallen and watched helplessly he had fallen unconscious and was found by the remainders of squad four and was healed. His recovery had taken a few months, but here he was walking around as though nothing had happened. And how was he even in the living world anyway? It didn’t make sense._

_“It’s because you’re dreaming.” Hitsugaya turned, startled by this second person – he hadn’t even heard anyone approaching. Who he saw made his eyes open very wide._

_White hair mattered with blood stuck up at funny angles, his clothes ripped and stained, fresh blood flowing freely from various gashes on him. A sword was clutched tightly in fingers that looked to be broken and intense aqua hairs bore into his equally intense aqua eyes. He was facing himself._

_“Where were you? Ichigo and Rukia are dead because of your incompetence. In fact **everyone** is dead because of your lack of ability. You promised that you would succeed, but instead you failed everyone and let them die. You’re a worthless failure.” Accusing eyes stared at him, daring him to deny. But he couldn’t because it was true. So many times he had been in a position where he had to watch as innocent lives were killed and destroyed and yet he had saved none of them. He had let Aizen win just that little bit more with each life he failed to save and he felt disgusted and sick with himself. His other self was completely right._

_“The best thing you can do is just roll over and die, at least that would be retribution to all the people you indirectly murdered.”_

_“But he’s trying to fix it. He came back to a time that he doesn’t belong in just so he can make sure that what has happened doesn’t happen again. Doesn’t that mean he really is saving everyone?” Hitsugaya jumped again and faced the newcomer, who did indeed have a very valid point. What he saw was a boy with spotless white hair with his Shinigami clothes immaculate and clean, his white haori with the number ten on the back positioned over the black robes. This newcomer still had intense aqua eyes that stared into his, but they seemed as though they were lighter, kinder, which was a stark contrast to the hard stone like eyes of the accusing Hitsugaya. The newcomer also was Hitsugaya._ Now this is just too weird _, he thought to himself as he looked at the two Hitsugaya’s._

_“What you say may be true, but he wouldn’t be in this mess if he had of done his job the first time round! And frankly I don’t think he can do it. Just look at him! He absolutely hates Harry Potter and he can’t stop having these flash back memories to remind him of just why he hates Harry, himself and just life in general. I don’t think he’s a strong enough person to be able to get past the past or future and look towards the future. It would be nice if that future was a different one but we both know that he doesn’t have what it takes!”_

_“Well I think you’re wrong. Even if he may not be a strong enough person he is determined. Hell he was a captain of the Gotei 13! Give him at least a little credit. He can do this because I believe in him!”_

_Hitsugaya watched as the other two fought over whether or not he would succeed, whether he was right or wrong, good or evil. The situation was interesting, but he had long figured out that if this was a dream then the two Hitsugaya’s must be the two halves of him – the pessimistic side and the optimistic side... Well not really optimistic but less pessimistic. It was strange to see the pessimistic side winning the argument, because this must really be his own thoughts which meant he didn’t believe himself to be strong enough to complete his mission. This in itself was unusual because for his whole life he was striving to be seen as strong and capable, but the whole time his heart hadn’t really believed it._

_He turned away from the two of him fighting to look around him at what he knew to be a memory. But as he looked he noticed that he was no longer in front of the Kurosaki Clinic but was instead in a place that was completely black. The two sides of him faded until he was all alone in this new place where ground melted into wall which melted into ceiling until you couldn’t tell whether you were standing straight, lying down or even standing on your head; it really was quite disorientating. Whispers could be heard through the darkness, whispered insults directed at him. The whole thing was pointless; he might as well have not come back to this time. The darkness swirled around him, pressing him down; weighing down on his heart and soul._ NO! _A voice said forcefully to him, reverberating through the darkness._ Snap out of it! Are you going to let a few doubts stop you from succeeding? The Hitsugaya I know would never dream of giving up, of just laying down without a fight. The Hitsugaya I know is a strong, powerful individual that can defeat anything thrown his way. So stop feeling sorry for yourself and wake up to yourself! _The darkness turned cold, the temperature turned right down. Hitsugaya widened his eyes in surprise. It had been so long since he had heard that voice, he almost didn’t recognise it. But the owner was unmistakable as they appeared before him, emitting a brilliant light to guide him through the darkness. Hyourinmaru. The ice dragon stood proud before him, and just looking at him reminded Hitsugaya of who he was; he was the proud captain of the 10 th division damnit! The youngest captain ever because of his intellect, power and amazing strength. He was proud and there was no way he would give up. He may not like Harry Potter, but he would be damned if that was going to stop him! He looked up, new fire blazing in the depths of his aqua eyes, and locked eyes with his Zanpaktou. His eyes sent thanks and also an apology. The two Hitsugaya’s from before were meaningless – they were just products of his own indecisiveness – but Hyourinmaru, he was the real extension of his soul. He had been a fool to listen to his doubts, to let them feed on his thoughts. It was true that many good people were dead and that he had watched many of them die, but they weren’t dead yet. In this time they were still alive and kicking, and he was going to keep it that way. He was going to give himself another chance and he would win against the darkness!_

_The darkness surrounding him started to lift and hazy shapes could be seen, taking shape. Hyourinmaru disappeared back into his mind, as his eyes slowly opened to take in the sights of the Griffindor boys’ dormitory. He was awake._

                He slowly sat up and rubbed sleep from his eyes as the sun came in through the window. The temperature in the room was once again unbearable – someone must have closed the windows and relit the fire after he had fallen asleep. Hitsugaya thought back to his dream. It had started off so strange, but he was glad he had that dream and was able to remember his true goal. _Arigato Hyourinmaru,_ he thought in his head, but he received no answer. He sighed, _so it was back to normal again, oh well, I guess I’ll have all year to try and remake the ties I once had with him._

                Hitsugaya got up and got dressed in loose fitting pants and a t-shirt; the boys in the beds around him still fast asleep. It was only around five o’clock in the morning, but this was way later than Hitsugaya usually slept in to. He finished dressing and then left the room. As he passed through the common room he couldn’t help but feel how much more empty it looks in the early hours of the morning than it does later in the day. He ducked out of the portrait hole and then left the castle to walk through the enormous grounds. When he found a secluded out of the way spot Hitsugaya sat down and started to meditate. It was a routine that he had been keeping for years; the only consistent thing in his inconsistent life. After he meditated he would practise some form work and then practise with Hyourinmaru – but he’d left his sword in the dormitory so he would have to make do with his wand this morning. Oh well. Hitsugaya continued with his morning routine.

                At around seven thirty Harry woke up with the other boys in the dormitory, though he couldn’t help but notice the absence of one boy in particular – Hitsugaya Toushirou. When he had come up stairs to go to bed the previous night he had noticed how cold the atmosphere was and when he had entered the room he saw that someone had opened all the windows and the cool autumn air was blowing through. To say it was freezing would have been a severe understatement. He had gone around and closed all the rooms and had relit the fire that must have been blown out by the wind.

                As he got up and dressed in the Hogwarts uniform he couldn’t help but look over at Seamus Finnegan. Last night they had a big fight. Apparently his mum didn’t want him to come back to Hogwarts with Harry, who the Daily Prophet labelled as crazy. Over the holidays all sorts of stories were flying around about him and how he supposedly witnessed Voldemort almost come back from the dead. Nobody was willing to believe that the darkest wizard of all time was trying to defy fate and do the impossible and rise from the dead. Harry’s claims were regarded as impossible and unbelievable and he himself was called a loon; nobody wanted to know or be associated with the crazy person.

                “Hey, you ok mate?” Harry looked at his best friend who had concern in his eyes. _Well, almost everyone._

                “Yeah I’m ok Ron. Let’s get some breakfast because I’m starving.” The two left in a companionable silence. They met up with Hermione outside the common room.

                “Morning,” she said with a bright smile. Ron grunted morning back and Harry nodded to her. She was far too happy and bright for this time of the morning. As they walked they passed students in various stages of awakeness, some looking like they would nod off at any moment. Harry concluded that this castle was full of people who were definitely not morning people; he could relate. Throughout breakfast Harry kept half an ear on a very talkative Hermione’s conversation while looking around the room trying to spot a certain someone. He didn’t even know why he cared so much; it was just something about the peculiar transfer student that made him want to find him, which was weird because he didn’t even like the guy – even if they had only exchanged a few words. Toushirou didn’t turn up for the rest of breakfast.

                Said person was flash stepping up to the castle to have a shower and get changed into his school uniform for first period. His workout this morning had been hard and vigorous, and it looked like he wouldn’t even get any time for breakfast. What a way to start the day. There was one thing he could be thankful of though and that was that he didn’t need a gigai, so he wasn’t feeling constrained as he usually did when wearing the false body. It was a good thing that wizards could see Shinigami because of their levels – even if very minor – of reiatsu, because it really would have been tough trying to find a gigai. He finished cleaning up and was just loosening his tie so it wasn’t so tight around his neck when the first bell rung. Luckily McGonagall had given him his time-table the night before so that he could study it and become familiar with it. Something about needed as much preparation for this new school as possible. He looked at the time-table now and saw that he had-

                “Defence Against the Dark Arts. Yes, finally things are looking up.” He had heard a lot about DADA classes at Hogwarts and from what he had heard the class taught defensive and offensive spells – there theory and their practical uses. He hurried to the classroom which was on the fifth floor, not too far away, and reached the end of the corridor it was on just as the door was closing. Quickly, using shunpo, he reached the door and stopped it from shutting, and then walked in. The teacher who had closed the door looked at him and he realised that even if it was a good subject, the teacher wouldn’t be so good, because the teacher was the one who had rudely interrupted Professor Dumbledore last night at the feast – the arrogant, toad-like ministry official who wore hideous amounts of pink. He calmly sat down in a chair and waited patiently for class to begin. Out of the corner of his eye he could see green eyes staring at him from across the room, but he just ignored him.

                “Good morning students, as you all know I’m Professor Dolores Umbridge and I will teach you Defence Against the Dark Arts this year. Now these will be our course aims for the year. I have high hopes for all of you to do well in your O.W.L.s with me as your teacher.” She turned away from the class and flicked her wrist at the blackboard which proceeded to fill up with curly writing. _Why couldn’t she just write it herself? Is she that lazy?_ Hitsugaya thought to himself.

                “Are there any questions?” she asked in that false soprano voice of hers as she turned around. Hermione confidently raised her hand.

                “Miss...?”

                “Hermione Granger. You’ve only listed the work on the theory behind the spells, but you haven’t actually written when we’ll practise the spells.”

                “Well Miss Granger, the ministry don’t think you need to know how to use the spells, it isn’t like you’ll need them, now is it. So the theory will do just fine.” _Damn! And I thought this was going to be a good and interesting subject,_ Hitsugaya thought.

                Harry raised his hand.

                “But what about when you need to defend yourself professor?”

                “Mr Potter, when would you possibly ever need to protect yourself? There are no dangers in this world that would harm you.” Hitsugaya didn’t mean to do it, it just sort of slipped out, but at the toads comment he quietly snorted at how ridiculous her statement was. Every head in the room turned to look at him.

                “Is there something you want to say to that Mr Hitsugaya?” She looked at him dangerously, almost daring him to say his thoughts, and never on to back down from such an obvious challenge Hitsugaya spoke up; it wasn’t like he couldn’t not say anything anyway.

                “Well, I was just thinking at how ridiculous that statement you made was. Don’t you think it’s a little naive to say that there are no dangers, that nothing will harm him or anyone else? I mean everything and everyone is a potential danger, because things are unpredictable, which means anything can happen. To say he would never need to protect himself, in my opinion, is a naive, close-minded and ignorant statement. That’s all.” Umbridge just looked at him. Had he just insulted her!? Harry looked at him with something close to gratitude on his face. It must be hard for the raven haired boy, having hardly anyone willing to stand by his side and help him against people like Umbridge. Hitsugaya had been thinking the whole way to Hogwarts on the train how to befriend the scarred boy, but now this happened out of the blue and it was way better than he could have hoped – he had practically told Harry that he was on his side. It was perfect.

                Umbridge came out of her speechlessness and walked over to Hitsugaya.

                “That, Mr Hitsugaya, has just earned you detention with me this afternoon.”

                “Ok.” _Like I’m going to go_.

                The lesson continued as normal, with Hitsugaya only skimming over the extremely boring book they had to read – Defensive Magical Theory by Wilbert Slinkhard – until near the end. Umbridge and Harry got into another fight about the dangers of the world, and this time Hitsugaya made sure to keep his mouth shut. It just ignored it for a while, but many other students were watching, much preferring that to the book.

                “...Voldemort.”

Hitsugaya’s head shot up and suddenly he was very interested, though listening into a conversation halfway through could prove to be a bit confusing.

                “You may believe, Mr Potter that you saw a dead wizard – one that has been dead for as long as you have been born might I add – try to become alive again, but that is impossible.”

                “It isn’t, I was there! He killed Cedric Diggery, what more proof do you need?”

                “Mr Diggery’s death was just an unfortunate by product of an extremely dangerous game that quite frankly should have never been brought to Hogwarts.”

                “No! It was murder! Trying to deny that Voldemort is trying to regain his life will only get you killed in the long run.”

                “10 points from Griffindor. Now Mr Potter if you could kindly stop spreading your lies and trying to taint the minds of the students in my classroom so that we can continue with our work, that would be appreciated.” Umbridge and Harry seemed to have a staring contest, neither willing to back down. From the little Hitsugaya had just heard he could work out that Voldemort was... dead? That part was still unclear, because dead people can’t become not dead – that was impossible, he should know. More research on Voldemort would be required.

                “I’m not lying Professor, just because you choose to live in a sheltered bubble and like to pretend that nothing’s happening, that doesn’t make it true.”

                Umbridge’s eyes flashed dangerously, still not breaking eye contact with Harry, but her next words were directed at the class.

                “Some of you may have been corrupted by this lying child, but I can tell you definitely that a certain Dark wizard will once again be at large, and that his reign of terror will be brought down on all our heads, cloaking this world in metaphorical darkness, but it. Is. A. Lie!” The last word came out almost like a hiss through her teeth as she broke eye contact to stare at each student individually.

                “It isn’t a lie, he’s out there, and we need to prepare for when he does come.”

                “I have had enough of you Mr Potter. You have detention, come to my staffroom straight after dinner. Now sit back down and-” The bell rang cutting her off and all the students stood up to leave to their next class, potions with Snape. Hitsugaya slung his bag over his shoulder and walked out of the room towards the dungeons.

                Harry watched him leave. He really hadn’t expected Toushirou to take his side like that, but since he did his whole opinion of the boy was now changed. _What type of person is he?_ Harry thought briefly to himself before deciding to find out for himself.

                “Hey Toushirou, wait up!”

                Hitsugaya turned around to see Harry running to catch up to him; he slowed his pace and Harry was soon at his side. He looked at Harry questioningly and Harry just turned his head slightly to the side so that he wouldn’t have to look at those eyes.

                “Um, I just wanted to thank you. You know, for what you said to Umbridge, and yeah. So we have potions know? DO you want to be my partner today?” Hitsugaya smiled inwardly, _perfect_.

                “Sure, and what happened in Defence Against the Dark Arts, don’t mention it, it was nothing really.” The two walked towards the dungeons together. When they were seated in the classroom, Hitsugaya couldn’t quite help but feel right at home in the cooler atmosphere. Professor Snape strode into the room when everyone was seated, pushing the door closed with a _thud!_ behind him. He had greasy black hair that hung down over his face, a face which supported a very large hooked nose. As soon as he entered the room all the students became completely quiet. Hitsugaya was impressed with the man; though is outside appearance was disgusting and revolting he managed to command respect which was commendable – quite unlike Umbridge who had commanded no respect in the slightest. Hitsugaya noticed his cauldron was already down in the dungeon, and he couldn’t help but wonder when it was put down here. The last time he had seen it was during his little episode with the Hogwarts Express – an episode he was glad to see that wasn’t spreading like wildfire through the castle.

                Hermione watched as Harry and Hitsugaya sat down next to each other a few rows away from her and Ron. _Harry just completely ditched us!_ Last night she had gotten the feeling that Harry didn’t really like Hitsugaya – which was unreasonable and irrational as he didn’t even know him – but that was the feeling she had gotten. And now here they were being all chummy and buddy-buddy just because Hitsugaya had stood up for him in class. Then she stopped. _Maybe he’s mad at us. But why would he be mad? Maybe he’s jealous because we got prefects and he didn’t! That’s the only thing that makes sense. But I really didn’t think he was that type of person, though. Hmm..._

                While Hermione sat in thought Ron, too, was watching his best friend and the exchange student sitting next to each other. His lip curled as his mind came up with all different scenarios that would happen because Harry sat next to Toushirou instead of him; number one being Harry would ditch him as a best friend and be best friends with Toushirou. That thought was very off putting. Ron stared at Toushirou, his eyes boring into the smaller boy’s back as though trying to drill holes in his back.

                Snape had assigned them to make some kind of potion that got rid of wrinkles or something like that. Potions were second nature to Hitsugaya because he had made enough to last a life time. During the war he had to make deadly potions as quickly as humanly possible and faster; he had been the chief potion master, so these insignificant, shallow fifth year potions were nothing for him. As he was adding some fluxweed to start off his potion he felt an incredibly uncomfortable aura emitting from two people behind him. The first one was a bit sad, and maybe slightly angry, while the other, more predominant one was incredibly jealous. And both of them were directed at him. The jealous person was trying to make holes appear in his back just by staring, he could. He slowly turned in his chair to find the two auras were coming from Ron and Hermione. _What could they be thinking? No scratch that, what could Hermione be thinking; Ron’s obviously just jealous because I’m sitting next to his best friend. I wonder what-_

                “Toushirou!” Hitsugaya was pulled out of his thoughts, and his head snapped around when Harry tugged on his sleeve and said his name. Hitsugaya immediately saw what the problem was. He had a tendency to work on auto-pilot when he was thinking, and it turns out he had fallen back into doing a potion he knew very well. Too bad he had already finished it. The potion in question was a deep, rich purple colour that was completely odourless, a far cry from the putrid green potion he was meant to have made. _Damn._ The purple potion was in fact a very deadly potion, one of the most deadly in the world; it was rumoured to be able to kill with just when drop touching any exposed skin. _Hopefully Snape hasn’t noticed._

                “What is this potion Toushirou? Had did you make it without any instructions or without even watching what you were doing?”

                Hitsugaya didn’t answer. Instead he got out his wand and was about to discreetly clean away the contents of the cauldron when Snape, who had been attracted by Harry’s lack of working, popped up behind him. He had felt the teacher coming, but there wasn’t anything he could do about the situation. _Damnit, there are going to be a lot of questions with this, I can tell._

                Snape had seen Harry not working from across the room, and not wanting to lose and opportunity to torment him, he had walked over. What he saw was not what he expected to see. To say that he was surprised when he saw Hitsugaya Toushirou trying to get rid of the contents of his cauldron, which was one of the most deadliest potions known to man – far too complicated for him to make let alone a fifth year student – would be the biggest understatement of the year. And the boy didn’t even look like he thought he did anything wrong, he just looked... frustrated? That couldn’t be right. Frustrated that he had gotten caught? But why make it in the first place. Not many students had ever made Severus Snape speechless, but this one did. Students had begun to look up to see why Professor Snape was just standing there and looking at the cauldron and not tormenting Harry. Instead of saying anything Snape just got out his wand and cleared away Hitsugaya’s cauldron. Then he walked to the front of the room and sat down behind his desk. Nobody knew what was going on, not even Harry who had been sitting beside him. To him Hitsugaya had just accidently put in a few wrong ingredients. Five minutes passed before Snape had found his voice. When he spoke it didn’t even like he lost it at all; it was as cool and severe as always.

                “Get back to work, or I will start to deduct house points.” Hitsugaya sighed a small sigh of relief, he was going to let it slide and he wouldn’t be forced to answer questions that he couldn’t.

                When the bell rang for lunch everyone packed up and was about to leave when Snape cleared his throat.

                “Mr Hitsugaya, stay behind.” _Damn, not as lucky as I thought I was._

                Hitsugaya walked back into the room and sat back down in his chair, his expression remaining as unemotional as it usually is.

                “I shall cut straight to the chase. That potion you made was the _Virus Venenum_ am I correct?” Hitsugaya nodded his head; there was no point in trying to lie – well too much that is.

                “How did you make it? No, why did you make it?”

                “It was an accident; I wasn’t paying attention to what I was doing. Look, I’m sorry, can I go now?” Snape looked at him incredulously. Did this child really expect him to believe that he made the most complex and one of the most deadly poisons because he wasn’t paying attention? _How dumb does he think I am?!_ It was obvious Snape wasn’t going to get a real answer out of him, so he may as well just let him go so he could talk to the Headmaster about it.

                “Fine you may leave.” Snape got up and watched the short student leave before he too left straight up to Professor Dumbledore’s office.

                Once Hitsugaya was allowed to leave he left the dungeons and went outside to sit maybe under a tree away from the student body. His stomach rumbled, reminding him of his lack of breakfast, but he ignored it, he didn’t really want to face the whole school population at the moment – way too much noise and heat. But as he sat he did keep a very close eye on the auras being emitted from Harry, and also Hermione and Ron. The fact that Harry was surrounded by people like them everyday could very well be a contributing factor to his turn to darkness.

                When Snape reached the gargoyle that protected Dumbledore’s office he muttered “lemon drops” and the gargoyle sprang to life. He ascended the stairs and reached Dumbledore’s door where he could clearly hear the Headmaster engaged in a conversation with Professor McGonagall.

                “Have you even heard this ridiculous rumour flying around the school? He got on the train, literally ON the train – on the side. And then he climbed across and smashed through a window! Albus, that should be impossible. I wouldn’t believe it if it were not for the evidence on the train; the carriage room he was in is full of glass and the window is completely destroyed. Not only is this a blatant disregard for school property, but it was also a reckless and stupid stunt. What can he be thinking? Does he have a death wish? Or is he just an adrenaline junkie?”

                Snape, who was listening in on this conversation, decided to make his presence known and rapped his knuckles on the door. The talking immediately ceased and Snape heard Dumbledore say, “Come in,” before he opened the door. Inside he saw that Dumbledore sat behind his desk with McGonagall standing in front of it.

                “Yes Severus? Is there something you need me for?”

                “In fact there is. I couldn’t help but overhear your conversation, and am I right in assuming you were talking about the new exchange student, Hitsugaya Toushirou?” Dumbledore curtly nodded his head.

                “Well he’s the reason why I’m here as well. You see I just had him for potions and his attention apparently wandered. This in itself is not unusual as many of my students – especially Gryffindors’ – tend to let themselves drift. But anyway, when his attention wandered his hands worked on auto-pilot, but the potion they made was definitely not the potion I set. He made the _Virus Venenum_ which is an extremely potent and deadly potion that even the most skilled of potion makers could only ever dream of making. If what he says is true and that he made it without thinking then that means that he’s made it before – numerous times before – which could mean that what we have is a very skilled killer amongst our midst.”

                “Don’t be ridiculous Severus, what we have on our hands isn’t some kind of killer, but instead a young child in need of some desperate help, and quick,” McGonagall said to Snape in condescending tones.

                “Minerva, Severus, it’s only the second day of school – the first day of the actually classes – so I say we trial Mr Hitsugaya for the next couple of weeks to see how he goes. He will be under constant, vigilant surveillance, and at the end of a few weeks we will judge his behaviour accordingly.”

                “And if someone dies in that probation period? What will you do then?” Dumbledore stood up his blue eyes blazing with anger.

                “Severus, you have no ground on which you base your accusations. Do you really think so poorly of me to allow a murderer into the school grounds? What I have decided is final; now both of you want to watch him, so leave.”

                McGonagall and Snape recognised the obvious dismissal and made their way out of the office. As soon as they were gone Dumbledore sat down once again.

                “Who are you,” Dumbledore whispered to the room. “Hitsugaya Toushirou... hmmm....” He steepled his fingers and rested his head on top. “Are you really as Severus says; are you really just a cold blooded killer? Or are you as Minerva says, just a very troubled teen? Or are you something else entirely? Very interesting...”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It would be really great if you could comment or kudo, just so I know if everyone's enjoying the story ^_^  
> Until next time


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's me! I'm back :) sorry for taking so long to update - I was hoping to do it before Christmas, but I had no internet, and then I was off to Europe just after Christmas and I've only just gotten back ^_^ So, I'm going to give you a couple of chapters right now to make up for it

The rest of Hitsugaya’s classes after lunch went relatively smoothly, though he did get a strange feeling in transfiguration. Professor McGonagall kept looking at him discreetly throughout the entire lesson with something akin to concern in her eyes; it was extremely annoying and made him feel uncomfortable. But now sitting on his comfortable bed in the boys’ dormitory with all windows open he could relax and just rest. Hogwarts was definitely not what he had expected and it would take some getting used to. Also adjustments to his own personal lifestyle would have to be made – for a start he wouldn’t be able to stay by himself like he’d prefer, instead he would have to ‘hang’ around Harry and his friends for practically the whole day. This first day of term had merely bee a day of observation, observing each persons’ character and personality that he felt was close enough to influence Harry’s attitude. Out of the people he had seen so far, which only included a handful of Gryffindor classmates, some guy with a really weird last name – Long something or other – Ron’s sister Ginny, and Hermione and Ron who were the closest to him, the people who had really worried him were Hermione and Ron. On the surface they seemed normal and Harry probably wouldn’t notice anything, but underneath the surface lurked potential monsters waiting to come out; this was quite evident in Ron who seemed quite jealous of some trivial matter or another, _who can tell with such small minds?_ he thought to himself. Downstairs in the common room he could feel the trio’s reiatsus’ right where he had left them. His plan to befriend Harry was going along nicely because of that Defence Against the Dark Arts lesson where they had developed a ‘bond’ or something corny like that, but Hitsugaya couldn’t help but feel that there was something a little off about it all, he felt that Harry wasn’t entirely truthful and that he was fake; everything about him screamed false. The way he saw it Harry had gone from hating him to being good friends with him – nobody changes their opinions on people that fast! But what was his angle? What game was he playing? He really was a mystery, but Hitsugaya loved mysteries and he would solve him before the deadline and he would help him as well – no matter how fake he was.

                Harry sat in his comfy arm chair down in the common room with Hermione and Ron and all three of them were huddled together around the fire – they had the best seats in the whole room. Hermione was rattling on about one fact or another and Ron was just sitting ignoring her, but she didn’t notice. Harry was deep in thought as he usually was these days – it was strange, he had never really thought of himself as being a thoughtful kind of person before – unconsciously rubbing the back of his hand, feeling the imprint of the words ‘I must not tell lies’ that seemed to be engraved in his flesh thanks to his detention with Umbridge where he had to write out lines with a special quill. Soon his thoughts turned to the events of the day and he couldn’t stop himself thinking of a certain white-haired student. He tried not to think about him but it was as though his thoughts were compelled to stay with him; the boy thoroughly intrigued him, he was a mystery. Today had been the first day he had really met him, and what he had seen was different to what he imagined the transfer student to be like for some reason. He had not expected Toushirou to stand up for him against Umbridge but he did and it was like a sort of bond or friendship had formed. Harry yawned and looked around the room. Everyone was doing everything and anything; he saw Fred and George selling their shady wares to unsuspecting first years, one or two people were reading books and there were a lot of people talking to each other. _Probably about the hot new topic of gossip,_ he thought to himself. Toushirou’s adventure – if that’s what you want to call it – with the Hogwarts Express had spread like wildfire through the school, and Harry had learnt from experience that one rumour always starts another rumour and another and another and so on. Toushirou’s rumour had gotten so out of hand that there was a spin-off rumour going around that he was a secret agent and had accidently fallen through the window on the train when he was instead meant to stay on the side and infiltrate Hogwarts secretly, but now he has to do it as a student. _Ridiculous._

                Harry was still weary of the smaller boy though, because to him Toushirou came across a bit... fake or false. Harry’s first impressions of people were rarely wrong and his first impression of Toushirou was that he was cold-hearted, cruel and distant, but today it turned out he wasn’t any of those things, and Harry would usually accept that, but there was still Toushirou’s behaviour on the train where he had been distant, giving anyone the cold-shoulder who tried to talk to him; this behaviour compared with the open, warm, willing-to-be-friends-with-Harry Toushirou that he had seen today, it just didn’t ring true to him. And he had been aware that he had been under constant scrutiny even though to the casual observer the looks would have been seen as nothing to worry about. He also noticed that Ron and Hermione were, for some reason, also under this scrutiny. It was very subtle and nobody had noticed, but it made him wonder what was really going on. What was driving this guy? What game was he playing? Harry didn’t like being in a game where he didn’t know what was happening or what would happen next – it was like playing a board game in the dark. Toushirou was a mystery, one Harry would like to solve, but he would be unable to do anything until the next move was made.

 

~             ~             ~

 

                Hitsugaya sat in the empty Great Hall at the Gryffindor table. It was the first time he had been in the room since the first night at Hogwarts and he was starving. But apparently there was a set time for breakfast because, even though it was five-thirty in the morning, nobody was up yet. He had changed the time he started his morning fitness routine, which was only a minor workout in the morning so only took between three-three and a half hours to do, so he would have plenty of time to have something to eat, to have a shower and to pack all his books for the days’ lessons which start at around quarter-past eight. It seemed he was too early for breakfast, but because of his vigorous workout he had exuded reiatsu and needed food to replenish his energy which had already started out at dangerously low levels. _If lessons start at quarter-past eight then why is nobody up? Do lessons start later or something today?_ Deciding that taking a shower would be a better pass time than waiting for seemingly non-existent food, he left the hall. Also this way he wouldn’t have to answer questions on why he was wearing workout gear and was all sweaty. As far as he knew nobody had commented on his stunt with the train so he didn’t want to push the gossip mongers to talk about this.

                At seven thirty he walked back down to the Great Hall after sitting in the Common Room for close to one and a half hours after having a shower and his stomach was growling at him showing its anger at being neglected for so long. When he reached the Hall he saw that nobody else was in there – _am I missing something here?_ – but thankfully the tables were weighted down with food. Hitsugaya nimbly walked to his table and looked at the selection and stopped dead. _What the?! What is this crap?_ Covering the entire length of the Gryffindor table was fatty, disgusting English food. Hitsugaya didn’t mind English food – food was food to him – but as far as he could see, all he could see was sausages, bacon, eggs, fat, fat, fat. Even the simple breakfast dishes like cereal and toast were someway made to be more fatty and unhealthy. He felt that he could probably get a heart attack just by looking at the food. His stomach growled again, but there was no way in hell he would eat that food. So he decided to take a little walk. As he walked he projected his mind out looking for life signs; he could sense people from all the common rooms stirring and waking up, but he could also sense an abundance of souls in the one place not too far from his position. He quickly flashed to the place but all he saw was a painting with a bowl of fruit, but there were definitely life signs on the opposite side. _The door must be hidden behind this painting, but how do you open it?_ He searched the whole painting without it moving an inch – it must be magically set in place – but as his hands roamed over the picture itself the painting suddenly sprang to life with the pear... giggling? It then morphed into a handle and the door swung open. Hitsugaya slowly walked through the door aware that he probably wasn’t meant to be here considering such lengths were taken to secure the doorway. _It was a pretty stupid lock though, I figured it out without even really trying to._ The inside was like nothing he had ever seen before. It was similar to the Great Hall in size and shape, in fact it would be an almost an exact replica if not for the fact that the whole room a massive kitchen. Little things were running here there and everywhere placing dishes on the tables, replacing empty dishes with full ones, and Hitsugaya realized this was how the food appeared in the Great Hall; this was the kitchen. He guessed the room was exactly below the hall, and if that was so then the five long tables must be under the house tables and the teachers table; an idea formed in his head. One of the things spotted him and ran over bowing deeply before standing back up.

                “Young master has come to the kitchen for food?” Hitsugaya nodded slightly. The creature took his arm with its thin bony hand and practically dragged him to a seat in a small alcove.

                “What would young master like to eat?” _I wonder if they would cook anything I asked?_

                “Steamed rice and tamagoyaki if you would please.” The creature didn’t even blink an eye at the Japanese breakfast dishes, just setting out to cook the food for him. It took only five minutes for the creature to get back carrying two plates in its hands which it then set in front of Hitsugaya. The smell coming from the familiar dishes was heavenly and he polished off the plates in record time, still hungry. But he wouldn’t have enough time to eat anymore if he wanted to get his books for class. He was almost out the door when he stopped and turned back around; the creature was by his side almost instantly.

                “Is there anything else i can do for you young master?” A small smile graced Hitsugaya’s features.

                “Well there is one thing you can do for me...”

 

~             ~             ~

 

                Hitsugaya arrived on time to his first class of the day – Care of Magical Creatures with Professor Grubbly-Plank; he hadn’t had this lesson yet and so he was really hoping that it would be something good, interesting or at least useful – not that he was holding his breath. He made the relatively short trek down to where the class was, taking note of how close the class was to the Forbidden Forest. Everyone was huddled around in small groups in front of what appeared to be someone’s house or rather hut, staying close together in an attempt to banish the cold from their frozen extremities. Looking at the students Hitsugaya realised that he’d left his coat in the kitchen and he hadn’t even noticed. A few heads turned his way as he walked closer to the class, and he could hear whispers flitting around, with the word ‘freak’ and ‘idiot’ tossed around a few times for good measure. He just ignored them and, spotting Harry with his two friends, he walked over.

                Harry and Ron were in a discussion about the upcoming Quidditch try-outs on Friday next week – Ron was hoping to get the position of goal-keeper – and Harry as a long-time member of the Quidditch squad was giving him a few pointers. The mood was very light hearted and joyful, that is until Ron saw the short transfer student walking straight towards them. _The bloke’s a bloody idiot, doesn’t he know that he’ll freeze to death, not that I really care much._ Ron watched Hitsugaya with narrowed eyes yet still keeping pace with his conversation with Harry. _If you want to steal my best friend you freak than you have to get through me first; bring it on._

                “Oh, hi Toushirou,” Hermione said once Hitsugaya was close enough to the group.

                “Morning,” was his reply as he inclined his head briefly in each of their directions to acknowledge them, his eyes lingering for a fraction of a second longer on Ron. The light mood seemed to dissipate, replaced with an awkward silence. Before any of them could say anything the silence was broken by Professor Grubbly-Plank as she started the lesson. She was crouched over a container that was made of black plastic so Hitsugaya couldn’t see in side. Many of the students were craning their necks, getting in closer and closer before Grubbly-Plank stood up straight with a creature in her hands that were thickly gloved in some kind of special material. As soon as the creature was in sight all of the students who had gotten in close all jumped back in disgust and one or two girls even screamed. _Pathetic, but even so that thing is absolutely revolting_. The thing appeared to be a slightly larger than normal snail with a bright orange shell; green liquid was oozing down along the teachers gloves as she held it up for all to see.

                “Does anyone know what this is?” There was a small pause and Hitsugaya noticed a lot of people giving Hermione discreet glances, as though expecting her to have the answer. And she didn’t disappoint.

                “It’s a Streeler Professor,” she said with almost no hesitation almost like she’d been waiting for that exact question. _I guess she must be smart, though I can’t say I’m overly surprised – the Hermione I knew was smart as well._

                “Correct Miss Granger, 10 points to Gryffindor. Now, this green, liquidy substance which you see coming from the Streeler is extremely venomous and it’s a by-product of their excretion,” at this Hitsugaya heard many students whispering among themselves saying things like ‘yuck’ and ‘that’s disgusting’. He himself wasn’t overly fazed by it and he was just curious to see what its use would be – whether it could be harnessed as a weapon or something like that.

                “This venom is so powerful that all vegetation that it passes over is burnt and shrivelled up almost as soon as it comes into contact with the liquid. Also it is one of the few known substances which is capable of killing a Horklump – which we learn about next lesson.” _Damn, not useful then. Unless..._ Hitsugaya raised his hand.

                “Yes?” Grubbly-Plank looked at him as did all the class.

                “You say it burns and shrivels vegetation, but I notice that you’re wearing gloves, so what happens if the liquid comes into contact with human flesh?”

                “That is a very good question Mr Hitsugaya. Well, when this venomous liquid touches skin it burns like acid, but as soon as it burns through the skin it enters the blood stream and is transported all throughout the body, burning from the inside so to speak. I’m told that it feels similar, but on a much smaller scale, to radiation poisoning.” _Not so useless, nice._ He nodded his head slightly in thanks and she continued with the lesson which was nothing too exciting. After about ten minutes everybody was told to split up into pairs where they would then get gloves and their own Streeler to observe and draw. Hitsugaya picked up his over-sized snail after donning gloves and sat down at the edge of the forest slightly apart from the rest of his class. When he had picked up the creature from the box his first thought was to get Harry as a partner, but he saw Ron grab – almost forcefully – Harry and drag him somewhere, giving Hitsugaya a very pointed look as he did so saying ‘Get lost, he’s my friend not yours.’

                He was just placing the creature on the ground when he felt someone approaching. He looked up to see Hermione dropping her bag on the ground next to him and sitting on a log, getting out her sketch book as she sat. He didn’t say anything as he got out his book and pencil and the silence between them extended. He finally looked up at her to see she was watching him.

                “So, guess we’re partners huh?” He drawled and she nodded. He picked up his book and was about to start drawing when he felt she was still looking at him.

                “Is there something I can do for you?”

                “No.”

                “Hn.”

                He once again picked up his book and pencil which he had put down and looked at the Streeler, but he could still feel her watching him and it was starting to make him feel uncomfortable – he hated being watched.

                “What?” He snapped at her, turning to face her once more.

                “Nothing.”

                “Then stop staring at me!”

                “Ok.”

                Her one word answers were frustrating him to say the least but he decided he would just ignore her. He started drawing, ignoring her ever-present watchful eyes which, even though she said she would stop, continued to stare.

                Hermione just continued to watch Toushirou, trying to figure him out by analysing each move he made. It was like ever since Harry had met him he had been unable to stop thinking about one thing or another and she was pretty sure she knew what he was thinking about. He hadn’t shared anything with her yet, but she knew that he had a lot of pressures on his plate at the moment and she wanted to know whether Toushirou would just add to that plate. From what she could gather he really hated being stared at, but he was a master at ignoring her – it was as though he had a lot of practise. _Maybe he has siblings. You know, I know nothing about him, I wonder what his life was like before he moved over here to England._

                “Toushirou, can I ask you something?” He looked up at her, looking at her with his amazing, intense aqua eyes. Those eyes held so much more wisdom then a boy of fifteen should be capable of holding; they were mature and seemed to penetrate straight through to her very soul every time they looked at her. She knew why Harry hated them so much.

                “You just did. Asking to ask a question really takes away my choice on the matter because no matter what I answer I will be answering a question that you have already asked. Was that the question or did you want to ask another question as well?”

                “Another question. What was your life like in Japan? I’ve never met anyone from so far away before.”

                “It was certainly different,” he answered with a wry smile. When it became clear that he wasn’t going to elaborate further she continued to her next question.

                “What about your family, do you have brothers or sisters, or are you an only child?” Hitsugaya wondered what all these questions were about. Why did she want to know things about him?

                “It’s... complicated I guess. What’s with all the questions?” She had not expected that answer – what did he mean by complicated?

                “How can we be friends if we don’t know anything about each other,” she told him with a bright smile.

                “Friends? You want to be my friend,” he asked incredulously. She nodded enthusiastically. _I guess this could work in my favour_ , he thought to himself, _I mean if I’m friends with one of Harry’s best friends then it will help me get closer to him_.

                “Ok, well continue your questions then.”

                “Good. Is Japan a nice country?”

                “Yes, it’s beautiful, even more so in the months when the Sakura trees shed their blossoms – it’s like it’s snowing, but the colours are all pinks and sometimes white.”

                “It sounds gorgeous; I’d love to see that one day.” Hitsugaya smiled slightly as he thought of the Sakura blossoms and Hermione smiled watching him; she had not seen the transfer student smile, but at the moment he was almost on his way to a full smile. He looked up and there seemed to be a sadness in his eyes before it was gone.

                “My turn, it only seems fair that we both know things about the other if this friendship will work. Do you have any siblings?” She shook her head.

                “No, I’m an only child. I sometimes wished that I could have a brother or sister, but I have Harry and Ron and they’re practically brothers to me so it’s all good. My parents are both muggles – people that aren’t magic – so when I stay with them I don’t often see Harry or Ron, that’s mainly during the summer holidays, but they’re always there for me.”

                The little question and answer session continued, all work forgotten, and Hermione and Hitsugaya found out a lot about the other person, even if all Hermione found out about Hitsugaya was usually not very in-depth or personal, but it was a start. The lesson was almost over when Hermione asked the question that had been bugging her almost the whole lesson.

                “Toushirou, why did you move over here to England to go to Hogwarts? Didn’t you leave all your friends behind by coming here? I mean don’t get me wrong, it’s great that you’re here and that I could become your friend and get to know you a little, but won’t people miss you?”

                Hitsugaya just stared at her unable to answer. All the questions up until now had been very easy to answer, but this question rendered him speechless. _No Hermione, I didn’t leave anybody behind because there was nobody to leave behind; nobody is left to miss me._ Out loud, after clearing his throat, he said,

                “Sure, but I felt I would get a better education here at Hogwarts. And it isn’t like I can’t... visit home in the holidays.” His voice almost cracked when he said ‘home’ but he managed to stay collected just in time for the bell to ring. He immediately stood up and grabbed his bag and Hermione fully expected him to walk off to the next class by himself, but instead he stood and waited for her to pack up and join him on the walk back up to the castle. She hurriedly threw her books in her bag and joined him and they walked in silence to charms.

                Before Hermione knew anything about him she had thought of Toushirou’s eyes as being too full of wisdom and that opinion hadn’t changed, but she realised that there was something else about them that she hadn’t noticed and wouldn’t have picked up on if she hadn’t asked that last question – his eyes were full of an incredible soul-burdening sadness that weighted him down with every move. _Is that why you’re here, because something happened at home? Something so bad that would make you look at the world with such sad eyes?_ She hated to see it and it made her heart cry just to see it. _Don’t worry Toushirou, I’ll be your friend and I’ll help you to get through whatever it is that you’re going through, I promise._

                “I hate it when people stare at me, so could you please stop it.” Hermione was pulled out of her thoughts to see Toushirou looking at her slightly annoyed, just to realise that while she had been deep in thoughts her gaze had slid over to and was now fixed on Toushirou. She turned slightly red and averted her eyes.

                “Sorry, I didn’t realise, I was thinking.” Hitsugaya smiled, but Hermione didn’t see.

                “Don’t worry about it, it’s ok. Come on and hurry up or we’ll be late for class.” He quickened his pace fractionally and she did too to keep up.

 

~             ~             ~

 

Harry sat down in the common room by himself. The room was empty but that was to be expected, it was around midnight. He had just gotten back from another detention with Umbridge – apparently he had done something more to offend her because he now had detention every night for the rest of the week. That meant he would miss the Quidditch try-outs and miss watching Ron’s try-out in particular. Angelina, the new captain of the Gryffindor team since Wood left, was not happy at all that Harry would miss them, but Harry had assured her that he truly would rather be there than be in detention with Umbridge. Ron was disappointed, but he got over it quickly when Harry had told him he would try to watch from the window. _Fat chance of that happening. With my luck Umbridge will have had the window boarded up just so I can’t look through it._

He looked down at the words etched into his skin from the evil quill he had to use. He hadn’t had Defence Against the Dark Arts today, but he would have to warn Toushirou before the lesson tomorrow because she was furious. All through the detention she had kept muttering to herself some hexes of some sort or another but with all of them involving Toushirou’s name in some way. _I guess she doesn’t like it when people skip detentions_ , he thought to himself, laughing slightly. His thoughts turned back to Ron. Since the school term had officially started Ron had seemed a bit... clingy, as though he was afraid of losing Harry, and Harry didn’t understand how he could possibly lose him. Was he talking about losing him to Voldemort? It was very confusing, but because of this new attitude Ron never left his side for not even a second, which meant he didn’t see Toushirou at all today, except for the occasional glimpse of him in classes – Ron had made it quite clear that he didn’t like the new fifth year, and he had told Harry that he could only be with one of them at any one time because Ron would not stay in the same area as Toushirou. But Ron also took away any choice harry had in the matter by sticking to him like glue. It really was starting to annoy him. He hadn’t seen Hermione practically all day either, and he didn’t know where she had gotten to, but he really needed to talk to her about the things that he had been thinking these past couple of days because, even though Ron was his best friend, Hermione was also his best friend and way better at listening, understanding and helping him then Ron could ever be. And he had a lot of thoughts he needed t tell her of so it could possibly take a while...

_< Harry>_

                Harry snapped straight up. He had been starting to doze in the extremely comfy armchair that he was sitting in, but when he heard his name he was instantly wide awake. His eyes scanned the room but there was no-one there. _Must have been hearing things._ He slowly sank back down into his chair and let his eyelids dip.

_< Harry>_

                Harry jumped up into a standing position, but still nobody was there. But this time there was no mistaking the voice for a dream because he hadn’t been nearly asleep like he had last time.

_< Why are you so sad Harry? Is it because Hermione has left you when you need her? Or is it because you don’t understand your friends’ behaviours? I can help you, all you need to do is to listen to my advice, I would never steer you wrong; I’m your only true friend. Listen to me Harry...>_

                The voice faded away and Harry was definitely spooked. There was still no one in the room besides him and the last time he had heard a voice without any actual person was present a Basilisk was going around trying to kill people with muggle blood; the giant snake being controlled by the diary Tom Riddell, his greatest enemy and fear. But this time was definitely different. For one the Basilisk was dead and the Chamber of Secrets closed and sealed and secondly, and this was what freaked him out and disturbed him most, the voice he had just heard had been his voice and it had been in his head. What did it mean that he was sad, he wasn’t sad, and Hermione hadn’t left him when he needed her, she simply wasn’t around today because she had other things to do; what was there to understand about her behaviour – Ron’s behaviour was confusing but not Hermione’s. And how could this voice be his only true friend if it was... well if it was him. But as Harry tried to justify each thing the voice had said he couldn’t help but feel it was a little hollow. It was as though he didn’t believe his own justifications even though he was the one saying them. Somewhere deep inside of him he felt himself secretly agreeing with the unknown voice, and it was thoroughly confusing him. His friends were his friends – his _good_ friends, his _best_ friends – not some stupid questionable voice in his head.

_< It seems you’re undecided about what to do, so I’ll leave you alone for now, but remember Harry, I will always be there for you because I am your one true friend and I will never leave you. Others come and go as you’ve seen your whole life, and one day even those you call best friends will leave you, but I will stay. I can stop the hurt that will come with the eventual betrayal of those that are close to you, but you first need to open up your mind and your heart and let me help you. Listen to my advice Harry; listen to me. When you have your answer I will return. For now it is goodbye...>_

                The voice faded once more leaving harry shaken. He slowly sank down into his armchair, his eyes wide. He didn’t know what had just happened but it scared him a little. _Should I tell someone? Dumbledore? No, people will just think I’m even crazier than they already think. I would become crazy Potter with the outrages claims who hears voices in his head. Yeah that would be just great,_ he thought sarcastically. _Dumbledore keeps avoiding me so I can’t tell him. Why is he avoiding me? Have I done something wrong? It just seems that lately, with the major exception of Ron, that everybody is keeping me at arms’ length: Dumbledore, Hermione, Fred and George, and even Ginny. What have I done?_ A small seed of doubt crept into his mind and, as traitorous as it was, he couldn’t help but think _maybe they’re getting ready to leave me, just like the voice said._ He quickly squashed that thought done. _No!_ He thought strongly, _they aren’t leaving me and they aren’t going to, they just need space, I know that’s what I need, so why is it unreasonable to think that they need it too?_ He lowered his head into his hands. What was he to do? He didn’t want to doubt his friends, he had too much faith in them for that, but this voice had confused him, and it didn’t help that it was his own voice that he had listened to. What should he do?

                Hitsugaya had been sleeping in his comfortable bed. The other boys had accepted that he slept in the cold, which he had thought was strange, but he had welcomed it. So they had made a compromise – Hitsugaya was allowed to have the window next to his bed open but he had to leave the fire and the other windows alone – he had agreed quickly to such a good deal. And now as he slept with the light wind washing over him he felt relaxed and peaceful.

                Suddenly his eyes snapped open. He didn’t understand what had awoken him at first. He looked around the room with bright alert eyes which instantly spotted the empty bed at the other side of the room.

                “Harry...” He whispered the one name just as his sense picked up on strange reiatsu levels coming from the common room. And then it hit him. Astronomical waves of killing intent seeped into every pore in his body and he reacted instantaneously. His Zanpaktou would be too difficult to get to in such a short amount of time so instead he pulled out his wand from under his pillow. He stood poised on the balls of his feet, wand at the ready searching for the killing intent he had felt. But it was suddenly gone; vanished as though it had never been there. With the disappearance of the killing intent he was able to pick up on Harry’s aura with his sense that had been momentarily blinded. The aura seemed off; strange, but he couldn’t place his finger on it. He lowered his wand and tucked it back under his pillow, completely capable without it.

                He soundlessly walked to the door and pulled it open, exiting onto the heavily carpeted, hot stairway leading down to the common room. He saw raven hair raised slightly above the back of an armchair before it dropped forward. Hitsugaya didn’t waste a second; for all he knew Harry was dead. _That would certainly solve my problem, but I guess it’s a morally wrong solution._ He reached Harry’s side to see the boy had his head in his hands, but the rise and fall of his chest in time with his breathing was unmistakable. The boy must be so caught up in his thought that he hadn’t even noticed Toushirou standing next to him. Standing in such a close proximity Hitsugaya was able to detect fluctuations in Harry’s aura depicting his confusion and the turmoil in his mind. He should have been able to sense that from further away, but he had gotten lazy in his time at Hogwarts; he couldn’t afford mistakes so he would just have to sharpen his senses and make them more acute to Harry’s particular moods. Also to Ron’s because frankly the boy worried him, he was such a bad influence on Harry. _What am I, Harry’s mum? I feel like I’m starting to sound like it._ He also wanted to keep an eye on Hermione’s moods if not just for the fact that he wanted to make sure she stayed happy because he hated seeing her upset.

                Harry’s aura fluctuated again and Hitsugaya realised he should probably stop Harry from thinking anymore – probably convince him to go to bed so that he wouldn’t think anymore about things that confused and... upset him? Was he reading the aura right? Stupid question of course he was; but if Harry was upset then he should _definitely_ rouse him. He lent over, but not too close, and gently poked the scarred boy in the shoulder. Said boy jumped a mile into the air and jumped back from the person he saw as trying to attack him. When he saw that it was just Hitsugaya he slowly lowered the fists that he had raised.

                “Toushirou, sorry ‘bout that, it’s a good thing I didn’t hit you there.” _Good thing for you,_ Hitsugaya thought.

                “What are you doing here?” Confusion laced his words as he eyed the shorter boy.

                “I just woke up and I saw that you weren’t in bed and figured you must have fallen asleep down here and figured I should wake you so you could sleep in your own bed – you would get terrible neck cramps if you slept in the armchair all night.”

                Harry continued to eye him up. For someone who ‘just woke up’ he was awfully alert, and he didn’t look tired in anyway, which he would’ve if he had just woken up. But he did come down here so Harry wouldn’t get a neck cramp, or did he? What he had some ulterior motive for coming down and waking him up? It was too hard to tell, his face gave away no secrets.

                “Thanks Toushirou, that was nice of you, goodnight.” Harry brushed past the white-haired boy and made his way up to the boys’ dormitory and up to his bed; Hitsugaya followed not too long after.

 

~             ~             ~

 

                The next morning at breakfast Hitsugaya had timed everything perfectly so he wasn’t too early or too late for the food that was to come, and today he was very happy about what he would eat. The previous day when he had talked to the strange creature it had asked if it could help him with anything and he couldn’t pass up the opportunity. And so, starting from today, the Gryffindor table would have, not just the foods it usually had, but also a nice selection of Japanese dishes for him so he would actually be able to eat good for a change. He sat down at the large table in the Great Hall and pulled some rice towards him and he started to eat. And that was how Hermione found him, stuffing his face.

                “What a pig Toushirou! And here I thought you hardly ate a thing.” She sat down beside him and looked curiously at the new foods around her.

                “That’s only because I didn’t like what I’ve been eating, but I’m starving so arranged for Japanese food to be put on the table as well.”

                “Oh, ok. So you asked Professor Dumbledore and he made it possible?” She hesitantly took a suspicious looking dish, willing to try something from another culture. Hitsugaya smiled slightly as he watched her. He commended her bravery, but miso soup would not have been his choice for somebody to have with their first time trying a Japanese dish. She took a spoonful and smiled weakly at him.

                “It’s delicious, yum!”

                “You don’t have to lie; miso soup needs... an acquired taste I guess you could say.” She stared at him with her mouth open.

                “Why did you let me eat it if it needed an ‘acquired’ taste then? That was just mean. Hmph.” She turned her head away from him and took another dish, a nice safe rice dish. He really did commend her bravery; because she just bounced right back and she didn’t even know if she would like the rice dish, especially at breakfast. But he could tell she did.

                “This really is yum, and I’m telling the truth this time. Isn’t it fun eating from other cultures? So you didn’t answer my question before, did you talk to Professor Dumbledore, because I would have thought that he would already have had Japanese foods ready for you.”

                “Well, I didn’t ask him per say, but what does it matter?” She looked at him strictly. “Ok, fine, I didn’t ask him at all. I went for a walk yesterday and found the kitchen and a asked the strange looking creature to arrange this for me and it agreed.” She looked at him questioningly and he went on to describe what the creature looked like. All strictness disappeared from her gaze as it turned into one of glee.

                “You found the house elves, now I know where they are so I can go directly to them to help free them! Yay, thank you!”

                “You’re welcome? But I have to say these house elves didn’t look unhappy or like they wanted to be free, in fact they looked like they enjoyed working in the kitchen. But Hermione was no longer listening. She was instead telling him all about her ‘free the house elves so they can get fair treatment for their work’ plan called-

                “Spew? What kind of name is that?”

                “Not Spew, S.P.E.W – it stands for the Society for the promotion of Elfish Welfare. That was too long so I abbreviated it, now don’t interrupt.” He went back to eating. Apparently she was tricking the house elves around the school into picking up items of hand-knitted clothing so they would be set free, but what she wasn’t thinking about was whether or not they actually wanted to be free; he would definitely have to take her down to the kitchen herself so he can show her that the elves are perfectly happy down there.

                “You’re not even listening to me Toushirou, and don’t say you were because I asked you a question and you didn’t answer.” He looked up at her just as the bell rang.

                “I got the gist of what you were saying,” he said defensively as he slung his bag over his shoulder and the two walked out of the hall talking as though they had been friends for ages. For Hermione she felt completely comfortable talking to Toushirou. Sure he was cold and introverted. And shy, didn’t have much patience and could get annoyed easily. And he sometimes had a superiority complex. And could sometimes be bossy and be in charge and could be frustrating, annoying and philosophical when she wanted him to answer a simple question. And he was also very quiet, only talking when it benefited him. But apart from all those minor personality faults he was a very nice person and she was glad that she had been able to get to know him just that little bit more.

                Hitsugaya smiled at Hermione as she talked indignantly about him not listening to her. He missed just walking and talking with the girl and it felt nice to be able to once again talk about nonsense and to just walk. He was keeping tabs on Harry and Ron who were just slightly in front – they were on their way to History of Magic – and everything was fine, great in fact. But he was still concerned over last night with Harry, but as long as he didn’t let his guard down like that again than everything would be fine. _I wonder what History of Magic will be like; I really, really hope that it’s a good teacher. I guess I’ll just wait to see won’t I._

                Hermione and Hitsugaya reached the door for the classroom and Hermione pulled it open and they both walked inside.


	8. Chapter 8

Hermione and Toushirou entered the dank classroom which was empty except for a few students – Harry and Ron included. Hermione quickly made her way over to her best friends with Hitsugaya following reluctantly.

                “Morning guys,” she said with enthusiasm. Harry smiled and Ron just grunted, obviously they weren’t morning people. Hermione sat down at her desk which was next to Harry’s and looked at Hitsugaya as though telling him to do something. They kept looking at each other for a few more minutes before he finally realised what she wanted him to do, so breaking eye contact he looked up at the two Gryffindor boys who were looking at the two of them quizzically.

                “Morning Harry, Ron,” he said and then sat down in the seat next to Hermione.

                Harry raised his eyebrows slightly, not many people were able to understand Hermione’s meaningful looks, but looking at his best friend and the transfer it was like a whole silent conversation had taken place.

                “Uh yeah morning to you too.” An awkward silence hung in the air, nobody really knowing how to break it. _Why does this always happen when the four of us are together?_ Hermione thought to herself. Ron was sending Hitsugaya evil glares over the top of his friends’ heads and Hitsugaya just ignored them. To everyone’s surprise the silence was broken by the very person whose presence made the silence awkward.

                “So is History of Magic a good class?” Three heads turned to look at Hitsugaya. Hermione smiled slightly in gratitude before answering his question.

                “It... _is_ interesting, well the subject in general. But the teacher – Professor Binns is, to say the least, very boring. Most people fall asleep during his lectures.” Harry nodded his head in agreement.

                “Yeah, and he doesn’t even notice, and if he does he doesn’t care. I don’t even know why he stays at Hogwarts to teach when he could probably move onto a better place.” That comment sounding really strange even to Hitsugaya who had heard his fair share of strange things before, what did he mean by moving on to a better place? He almost made it sound like the teacher was dead. But that was ridiculous. Hermione and Harry had continued talking about their Professor and hadn’t even noticed that he had dropped out of the conversation, but that was fine by him, he usually was a listener anyway. Ron didn’t even attempt to listen to his friends as he continued to glare at Hitsugaya. _What is his problem? I guess I’ll have to talk to him about it later won’t I? How annoying._

                “Well if it isn’t the short mudblood, I guess you told me the truth when you said you would be in the fifth year.” Harry and Ron immediately jumped in to aid Hermione who they thought Malfoy was talking to.

                “Get lost Malfoy, Hermione’s way better than you in everything so don’t you dare call her a mudblood!” Harry shouted at Malfoy, his brow furrowed in barely suppressed anger. Ron stood next to him with his fists clenched so tight his knuckles were turning white. _I suppose this means that the term ‘mudblood’ is meant to insult someone,_ Hitsugaya thought to himself.

                “Shut up Potter, I wasn’t even talking to Granger, like I would want to associate myself with her,” he said as he stuck his nose up into the air as though to show his superiority. “I was in fact talking to the freak, so butt out.” He turned to Hitsugaya who just watched him with an emotionless face. He didn’t know why being called a ‘mudblood’ was so insulting, but he wasn’t about to get worked up about it.

                “So what have you got to say for yourself freak? Or are you just too awed by my presence that your tiny little brain can’t even think of something to say as a comeback.” Two boys who stood behind Malfoy sniggered dumbly at this. They looked like thugs and barely evolved primates. Hitsugaya raised an eyebrow, the only change in his emotionless face. The fact that Malfoy couldn’t get a substantial response out of the icy boy only helped to enrage him. But, keeping his cool he lowered his voice so only Hitsugaya could hear.

                “I’d watch your back if I were you, you never know when someone might just stab it.” He straightened up and motioned for his cronies to follow him and then they went to find a seat somewhere behind him. Hitsugaya knew a threat when he heard one but he didn’t overly care much about it, there was nothing that a mere fifteen year old human could do to him that would hurt him in the slightest. Hermione leaned over to her and friend and asked if he was ok.

                “Yeah, fine. He’s all talk, there is no way he would actually do anything.” Hermione seemed pleased with the response and sat up straight.

                “Here comes the teacher now.” Hitsugaya looked to the door but it stayed closed.

                “Good Morning class, please open your textbooks to page ten.” Hitsugaya’s head snapped to the front to source out the monotonous droning voice of someone that could only be the teacher, but the he hadn’t even seen the door open. What he saw at the front of the classroom made his eyes widen in surprise. Standing at the front of the classroom was the strangest looking ghost he had ever seen; it didn’t even have a soul chain. The monotone drifted around the classroom and already some students looked as though they were asleep, even Hermione didn’t look as alert as she had two minutes ago. _What do I do? What would happen if I tried a soul burial? Would it even work, it looks as though my sword would just pass straight through._

                A hand lightly touched his arm and he jumped slightly and turned his head towards Hermione.

                “Are you alright Toushirou? Have you never seen a ghost before? I know it can seem a bit freaky at first but you get used to it I promise.” She sent him a reassuring smile before turning back to concentrate (sleep) on the lesson. Hitsugaya also turned towards Binns who was spouting complete nonsense about some goblin rebellion. Every class so far had been a waste of his time. He soon found his thoughts drifting and he casually slid his eyes in the direction of his new friend. Every time he looked at Hermione Granger he was reminded of a different girl from a different time. The one he remembered was older and had slightly shorter and darker hair, but overall she looked almost the same.

He remembered the first time he had met her; it had been during a skirmish on the outskirts of the 34th district in Rukongai. His division had been sent along with members of the sixth division to hold off the hollows that were attempting to break through to get to Seireiti. While they had been lower class hollows and were easily beaten, what they lacked in power they made up for in numbers. If you killed on hollow three more would take its place. Realising the foolishness of continuing to attack head on the Shinigami pulled back slightly and regrouped to form a different strategy. It was decided to surround the hollows from all sides and to attack from all sides so more hollows couldn’t possibly come. Hitsugaya led his team around to the right side and got ready to attack. There had been a few houses scattered around but all the residents had abandoned them when hollows were spotted in the area. The hollows, being the dumb, mindless creatures they are, didn’t notice what the Shinigami were doing until too late. A signal was given and they all rushed in from different places and successfully surrounded the now trapped hollows and attacked them. Hitsugaya had been about to follow his team when he heard a small noise from inside one of the deserted houses.

_He carefully crept over and glanced in to make sure it wasn’t an enemy before sneaking in. On the floor was a girl who looked around nineteen though it was hard to tell because her hair hung down over her face. He knelt down and rolled her over. Eyes that had been closed snapped open to reveal chocolate coloured eyes and he couldn’t help but compare how similar this girl looked to his childhood friend had his friend been a bit older. Her hair hung down to just past her shoulders and it wasn’t dirty like most inhabitants of Rukongai; actually, on a whole, her appearance was much better kept than someone from district 34. That meant she must be new – or to put it more bluntly, she had just died and passed over to Soul Society. She looked at him with wide eyes taking in his appearance from his snowy white hair and unusual aqua eyes to his bloodstained haori and Shinigami uniform._

_“M-my name’s H-Hermione Granger, who are you?” He continued to look at the girl before answering._

_“Hitsugaya Toushirou, Captain of the tenth division of the Gotei 13.” She looked at him quizzically, all fear banished from her eyes._

_“Do you remember anything before waking up here?” He questioned and instantly regretted it as her eyes clouded over in sadness. She hung her head forward and nodded._

_“Am-am I d-dead?” She asked it in a small voice and he felt sorry for her. He wasn’t good at this whole comforting thing and he had never met a new soul before and so he didn’t know what to say. Well that wasn’t any use sugar coating it._

_“Yes,” he stated simply._

_“Will you be fine here; I need to go back outside to help my squad fight.” Her face brightened and he thought it was because he was going to leave her inside, out of the fighting._

_“I can help you, when I was alive I was a witch – a very skilled one at that if I do say so myself.” And before he could object she was rushing outside, drawing from inside her simple yukata a piece of wood – her wand. He could only stand and watch as she cast spell after spell, taking down numerous hollows._

_When the fighting was down and all the Shinigami retreated back to Seireiti, Hitsugaya took Hermione with him to see the Soutaicho. Hermione was the first magical soul to actually reach Soul Society ever since the wizards had joined the war and her skills and talents could be put to very good use. The Soutaicho told Hitsugaya that Hermione would be placed in his squad and he would teach her everything he knows about Shinigami and how to be a Shinigami. In return Hermione would teach him all the spells she knew and also teach a magic class to any interested Shinigami._

_She had been a great Shinigami,_ he thought to himself, _right up until the end_. They had formed a close bond of friendship and when she was killed by one of the people most dear to her he had been devastated. But now, sitting beside her in class, it was like he could almost forget the future, a future he didn’t want to remember.

Hermione felt his stare on her, but at the same time it was distant. She turned her head slightly and saw that, while Toushirou was looking at her, his eyes looked like they were in the past, remembering something. She continued to look at him until his eyes regained there usually brightness and he snapped out of whatever memory he had been in. They looked at each other for a few seconds before Toushirou turned away and looked back to the front. She smiled to herself before following his example.

Ron narrowed his eyes as he watched that slimy git stare at Hermione almost the whole lesson, and when Hermione noticed all she did was stare at him! What was going on? If he wasn’t careful he could lose not one, but both of his best friends to the same person. He would not let that happen, not at all. He casually lent over to Harry and whispered so no one else could hear.

“Hey, at lunch, do you and Hermione wanna come with me to explore some of the Forbidden Forrest.”

“When did you need to ask, of course I would, I’ll just ask Hermione.” Leaning over to his other side he repeated Ron’s proposition to the girl. She looked at him like he had just grown a second head.

“They are out of bounds, you do know that right? Well I might as well, because you would still go even if I didn’t wouldn’t you? Can Toushirou come?” Harry nodded.

“Duh, he is one of our friends, ask him.” So Hermione leant over and tapped Toushirou’s shoulder. He lifted his gaze to meet hers.

“We’re going to explore the Forbidden Forrest at lunch, want to come?”

Hitsugaya mulled the question over for a few minutes. At lunch he had planned to do a bit of researching in the library and find out more on this Voldemort character, but if everyone else was going to the Forbidden Forrest... He could always go to the library later that night.

“Sure, sounds like fun.”

“Great!”

The rest of the lesson – only about ten minutes left – went by as slowly and as boringly as the start of the lesson had gone. If he wasn’t so sure that it was impossible, Hitsugaya would have thought that he was going to die of boredom. He hung back while the others students attempted to leave as quickly as possible, pretending to place his textbook and quill inside his bag. He was just thankful that nobody realised that he hadn’t followed them out the door, and soon he and the teacher were the only people in the room. He slowly stood up straight and nimbly jumped down the desks and landed in front of Professor Binns in a cat-like stance. Binns looked at the strange student as he rose from his stance. He had never seen a student act like this before but he was too old to think much.

“Hello Professor, I’m the new transfer student, and I was just wondering, what are you?” Aqua eyes met transparent grey ones and Binns eyes widened; the first change in facial expression for years.

“Who are you boy?” A strange feeling started to creep along his body, a feeling he had completely forgotten as he hadn’t felt it since he had last been alive; he felt fear. Fear of this unusual student who watched him with calculating eyes.

“How is it that you have no soul chain?” _Soul chain_ , the scared Professor thought to himself. And then he remembered a hazy memory, one that had happened so, so long ago, soon after he first died. He had been more solid and he had a... chain sticking out of his chest. The Head Master of the time – it had been so long he couldn’t even remember who it had been – had offered for him to stay at Hogwarts, but warned that if the chain disappeared he would become a monster. Not wanting to be a monster Binns had pleaded with the Head Master for another way and another option was presented, though it wasn’t ideal. A spell could be cast to take away the chain so that he wouldn’t become a monster, but the cost of that would mean that he would be stuck in limbo, unable to go to Heaven or Hell.

Binns looked at the boy who waited patiently and explained all he had remembered, hoping that the boy would leave him alone.

_That must be what happened to all the other ghosts here as well, which means that a soul burial won’t work._

“Professor, can I trust that you will not speak of this little... chat to anyone – including Professor Dumbledore?”

“Y-yes, of course. You have my word.”

“Good, because I will know if you go back on your word, and I can say now, I wouldn’t be very happy. Good day Professor.”

With a blink of the eye – though Binns didn’t need to blink – the student was gone.

Lunch time rolled around quickly, the classes seeming to just fly by. Hitsugaya briskly walked to the Great Hall, hoping that they hadn’t left without him, though he could sense all three of the golden trio in the Great Hall, and it wasn’t like he wouldn’t be able to catch up, but it was the principal of the matter – nobody likes getting left behind. He instantly stopped walking in the middle of the hallway. _Why would I care if they left me behind?_ He shook his head to dislodge any thoughts and continued. _Ridiculous..._

Harry saw Toushirou enter the hall looking preoccupied. Ron was chatting away happily while eating about how much fun their little ‘adventure’ was going to be, and Harry couldn’t help but feel uneasy; neither him nor Hermione had mentioned the fact that they had invited another person along.

“Hey, Harry, Hermione, let’s get going, I’m so excited! Friend bonding time, woo!” Harry and Hermione looked at each not quite knowing what to make of Ron’s attitude – ‘Friend bonding time’?!

“Um Ron... We just have to wait for, uh, one more person. We, uh, kinda invited him as well.” Ron instantly looked suspicious.

“Who?” His voice had gone dead-pan, completely different to the enthusiastic tone of two seconds ago. He had an idea who it was, but he was really hoping it wasn’t.

Harry looked up to see Toushirou walking towards them.

“Hey Toushirou, well we’re all here, so we might as well get going, right?” Ron’s face resembled a thundercloud. Out of everyone they could have invited they invited him. Hell he’d have even taken Malfoy over that white-haired freak. Not bothering to answer Ron stalked off a head, forcing Harry and Hermione to quicken their pace to keep up with him.

The walk down to the forest was silent and awkward, though it didn’t bother Hitsugaya like it did the other three. When they entered the forest another type of silence descended upon them; an eerie, foreboding silence. Hermione cleared her throat loudly.

“So, we’re here, how about we split up to find a good place to sit and talk?” Everybody agreed to her suggestion instantly, if not just to hear their own voices and make sure they were still there.

“Who wants to go with whom?” She continued, though her voice wasn’t nearly as strong as it usually was.

“I’ll go with Ron.” All heads turned to look at Hitsugaya who looked impassive and uncaring. _Did he just offer to go with Ron_ , Harry thought to himself. _Even though he knows that Ron hates him? I will never understand you Toushirou._

Hermione nodded enthusiastically. “Great! So when you find a good place, I don’t know, maybe, hmm, I guess you could whistle.” When everything was decided the two groups of two went separate ways and started to trek through the dense foliage.

Hitsugaya briefly glanced at Ron who was determined to not make any eye contact at all. That was fine, because the only reason why he had offered to go with Ron was so he could clear a few things up. He didn’t know what the problem was, but he wasn’t a genius for nothing so he could probably guess that Ron was scared of losing his best friends to him. But whatever the problem, his dark attitude that he was constantly exuding was having a bad effect on Harry and he could not let it continue. So he would either convince him to have a better attitude or, if necessary, he would eliminate the threat. If Ron showed no signs of improvement Hitsugaya might just be forced to kill him, which he would not hesitate to do. Any threat to his mission would be taken of accordingly.

When they were very far away from the other two Hitsugaya stopped. They were in a very small clearing surrounded on all sides by very dense trees and undergrowth, so even if Harry and Hermione had been two steps away they still wouldn’t have seen anything. _Perfect._

Ron also stopped when he noticed his companion had stopped. He looked around him and saw that the clearing they were in was completely unsuitable for what they wanted. It wouldn’t nearly fit all four of them sitting down. He turned and looked at Toushirou and what he saw made his blood run cold. The transfer student was standing a few steps away and he was looking at Ron with cold, hard, emotionless eyes. He had never felt intimidated or scared of the student before unlike so many others, but standing here now with the realisation that he was by himself, in a forest he wasn’t meant to be in where nobody could see or hear him, standing not five feet away from someone who looked like he wouldn’t hesitate to kill, Ron was terrified.

“T-this is-isn’t a good s-spot, we should k-keep walking.” Hitsugaya moved forward a few steps, closing the distance between them, until there was less than a step between them.

“Ron, what is your problem with me? Are you jealous, is that it?” A cold sweat broke out on Ron’s face as he hastily nodded.

“I really dislike the glares that you always give me in class, and this negative, jealous attitude of yours will only bring people down. So because I’m such a nice guy, I’ll give you a chance to change your attitude. If it hasn’t changed by tomorrow, I may be forced to do something unpleasant, do you understand me?” Ron gulped before nodding again. He stood nearly two heads taller than this guy yet his stare made him feel so much smaller. The threat only helped to make him more terrified, what would he do if he didn’t stop thinking jealous thoughts? It didn’t even bear thinking about.

A whistle cut through the tense atmosphere surrounding the two and Hitsugaya had instantly placed some distance between the two.

“Remember what I said Ron,” he said before disappearing through the trees in the same direction the whistle had come from. Ron hurried to follow him so he wouldn’t get lost, but no matter how hard he tried to listen to the others footsteps he heard nothing. _This guy is unreal, who, no what is he?_ After a while he made it to the area the others were and he saw the three of them talking and laughing like old friends, Hitsugaya acting as though nothing had happened. Jealousy gnawed at his stomach and Hitsugaya’s head snapped up to look at him with those cold eyes, and the jealous thoughts were gone. _How had he known?_ Hermione also looked up and saw Ron.

“There you are, come on, sit down. Are you ok? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.” He shook his head and smiled weakly at her before sitting down.

“I’m fine, it’s just that this forest can be... spooky.”

The rest of lunch passed quickly as did the rest of the day. Ron could feel those intense eyes following his every move, watching and waiting for him to slip up. By the end of the next day he could only sigh in relief knowing he had passed through the two days with a lighter attitude, no jealous thoughts at all. He could still feel himself under scrutiny, but it wasn’t nearly as frequent or as intense as it had been.

 

~             ~             ~

It had been a few weeks since the incident in the Forbidden Forest and Harry, Hermione and Hitsugaya had all drawn closer, though Harry still kept him at arm’s length. He hadn’t heard the mysterious voice again and he really hoped that was because it had left him alone. Even just thinking about the creepy moment in the common room made the hair on his arms rise. Ron had gone back to his normal self, for which Harry was increasingly grateful of, he no longer seemed to be clingy like he had at the start of the year, and with his change in attitude it felt as though a weight had lifted off his chest.

He was right now sitting in the library doing his potions homework with Toushirou sitting across the table doing who-knows-what considering he always seems to finish his homework within an hour of getting it. Pretending to read a book Harry looked at his companion, the person he, just a little hesitantly, calls a friend. His emotions about the boy were a lot less conflicted as he had gotten to know him, but he still got the feeling that there was something hidden beneath the surface, something that they were all missing. He had been able to talk to Hermione a couple of weeks back and she had told him not to worry about it. It had been good to speak to her; she seemed to know just what to say to make him feel better. Hogwarts life had settled into an easy routine of lessons, free time and being pestered by Malfoy. The Slytherin boy couldn’t stand the fact that his insults just rolled off Toushirou as easily as water on a ducks back, and so he had made it his mission to find a way to insult the boy that would get any sort of reaction; he had been unsuccessful so far.

Hitsugaya was reading a book on Dark Arts: Spells of the trade; thankfully no-one had seen the title of the book; he really didn’t need any rumours about him becoming a dark wizard. He had recently found out that there had been a major rumour concerning the train incident, but he immediately squashed the rumour, along with all ridiculous spin-off rumours. And since then he had sent a frosty glare at anyone he found talking about it. Honestly, rumours at Hogwarts were worse than in Soul Society, and that was saying something! He had since been cautious not to do anything to provoke any more annoying gossip. Across from him Harry was meant to be doing his potions homework, but he got the distinct feeling that the scarred boy was more preoccupied with staring at him. It seemed to be a habit of his new friends, to stare at him when they didn’t think he was looking. While things had settled down for the most part, Hitsugaya had the feeling that this was just the calm before the storm. Ron had made a commendable effort to control his thoughts, but it was obvious to him that the red-haired boy still hated him, though he put up with him – whether that was out of fear for himself or loyalty to Harry and Hermione he couldn’t tell.

Thankfully Hitsugaya was able to do his homework in record time, a talent much commented on by those around him, so it gave him more free time to think and to concentrate on his surroundings. Though he got the feeling that two of his teachers – Umbridge and Snape – were giving more homework than they usually would, just to see if he could do it; neither of them liked him much. Snape was always watching him in class – it must be a British thing, to stare rudely at people – and assessing the potions he made. He was careful to not make the same mistake he had that first potions lesson, that would prove to be a dangerous thing – Snape was already suspicious of him.

Umbridge on the other hand hated him because she didn’t feel that he gave her any respect, which he didn’t really. He had no reason to respect someone who didn’t respect him, nor had she done anything to deserve his respect. Ever since he had skipped out on that detention she had given him she had tried countless times to put him on detention, though he never showed up.

But school was a trivial matter, something that just wasted time that had no other purpose but to be wasted and, frankly, he was bored. Nothing was challenging enough for the young genius, and while he did enjoy his intellectual discussions with Hermione every now and again, her own intellect was nowhere near high enough to satisfy his own for any long period of time. It was getting to a stage where he wished that he had some paperwork to complete, not that he would ever have to do paperwork ever again. That was a depressing thought. He let out an almost inaudible sigh. He had been feeling this strange feeling in his chest lately, an almost tugging sensation, but he knew it wasn’t any physical problem. He had never encountered it before and because of it he had found himself thinking more and more of the happy memories he had of before the war. It hadn’t really sunk in yet that everyone was dead, but he sometimes felt these past few weeks that he was betraying the memory of everyone he had known, that he was letting them down by sitting around idly.

So far, except for that one week with Ron’s jealousy, Hitsugaya had found nothing wrong concerning Harry and his supposed ‘falling to the dark side’. In fact Harry acted just any normal teenager would – he was rash, impulsive and his mood swings were great, one minute being happy and then the next angry. But that was how teenagers acted – that was how Kurosaki Ichigo had acted at the exact same age. _Am I even needed here? What if the text books were wrong and there is absolutely nothing I can do to change the events that I have seen happen? Is Harry being influenced or is he just a bad egg?_ He gazed at Harry, who had given up on looking at him and was actually doing his homework. _Sure he complains a lot, and he likes to argue, but I haven’t really seen anything that would indicate that he was... evil._ He would just have to reserve judgement for now. But if it did turn out that Harry was just plain evil from the beginning at least he would be there to kill him when the time came.

 

~             ~             ~

 

It was after dinner and Hermione and Hitsugaya were sitting underneath a big tree on the grounds.

“So did you finish that essay for transfiguration yet? Wait, no, stupid question, of course you have!”

“I have; what about you?” Hermione shook her head and looked up at the cloudy sky up above.

“Not yet, I had to do that 12 inch Defence Against the Dark Arts report. It looks like it’s going to rain soon; I can already feel the cold in the air.” She wrapped her cloak tighter around herself as twilight settled upon the grounds. She looked over towards Toushirou and saw he was only wearing the short sleeved button up shirt of the Hogwarts uniform.

“Are you crazy, it’s almost winter! You’ll freeze to death.” A small smile tugged at the corners of his mouth at her words.

“I like the cold; it doesn’t bother me too much.” She looked at him as though he was crazy.

“You’re crazy! Even if you don’t think you’re cold you can still get sick.” She looked at his shirt again. The Hogwarts shirt he was wearing was intended for summer, not winter, so it was made of a lighter material, and she couldn’t help but admire the way it clung nicely to his form which, she hadn’t noticed before, was quite muscular. He slowly stood up.

“Fine we’ll go in, but that’s just so _you_ don’t die of pneumonia or something like that.” And with that he started to walk up towards the castle with Hermione walking closely behind. She inspected the way he walked; it was almost with an unnatural grace not from this world with him making hardly, to no sound at all. Walking beside him she felt like the noisiest, most ungraceful klutz around. _I wonder why I never noticed this before._ It was the first time she had really looked at Hitsugaya before. Sure she had looked at him, but never _looked_ at him. His aqua eyes stood out against his chiselled, pale skin, and his pure snowy hair was stylishly arranged with one part coming down across his face. Looking at him at this moment the only word she could think of to describe him as was ‘gorgeous’. Not many fifteen year olds would have been able to manage that level of perfection that he had, and frankly she was surprised that he wasn’t more popular with the girls. They probably couldn’t get past his cold and icy demeanour. Hermione smiled to herself. Too bad they just didn’t take the time to get to know the real Hitsugaya Toushirou, the one underneath all that ice, because under it all he really was just a nice, caring guy. To be honest she hadn’t truly gotten that far under the ice – it was very thick – but she was starting to see that personality shining through. A small blush started to form over her cheeks as she thought of how nice he had been to her, and to a lesser extent Harry, and to a much, much lesser extent Ron. Suddenly her thoughts stopped dead. _Wait! What am I thinking? Toushirou’s just a friend, so why do I keep thinking of him as gorgeous, and why am I blushing?! Oh no, I hope he doesn’t turn his head and see me blushing – not that I care what he thinks! Right? Wait! No, that’s impossible. I do **not** like Hitsugaya Toushirou! Why am I trying so hard to convince myself? Oh, I’m so confused._ Hermione ducked her head and let her hair hang down over her reddened face. When they got up to the Common Room, she quickly muttered a good night and hurried off to the girls’ dormitories.

Hitsugaya frowned slightly. He hadn’t even said anything, so why was she upset? People were just too hard to even try to figure out. Suddenly he felt a weight settle down on his shoulders and his eyes widened. _Impossible..._ His walked over to the window and threw it open; ignoring the dirty glares the now cold Gryffindors were giving him. His sensitive senses picked up on where the reiatsu was immediately and he closed the window, much to everyone’s relief. The pressure he had felt just then had been a hollow and his senses had pin-pointed its location to be in the Forbidden Forest. He hastily made his way up to the dormitory, hoping that it was empty. Luck seemed to be on his side as he found out when he strode into the empty room. He went to his trunk and started to take everything out quickly until he came to a false bottom. If somebody walked in now he would be asked a lot of uncomfortable questions he wasn’t sure he would be able to answer. Opening the false bottom Hitsugaya withdrew the item that had been in there before throwing everything back into the trunk not bothering to close it. He changed his clothes into looser fitting track pants and a loose shirt. They weren’t ideal clothes, unlike his Shinigami uniform, but under the circumstances they would have to do.

He strode over to the window by his bed and flung it open. A gust of wind immediately greeted him and he welcomed it before standing on the window pane and jumping down into the dark, cloudy night.

He landed nicely in a cat-like stance on the well kept grounds of Hogwarts, rising slowly to see if there was anyone around. When he saw that there wasn’t he shunpo-ed to the hollows location. It felt good to be running at such a speed again, without fearing death if he stopped. He could feel that the hollow was relatively weak and he would be able to defeat it in a few attacks, but he wasn’t about to underestimate it. After all it had gotten past Hogwarts defence system – whatever that may be – so it was probably safe to say that it was suppressing some of its power. A true smile spread across his face. Finally something worthwhile to do.

When he came into the clearing that the hollow was in he was greeted by an unexpected surprise. His eyes widened in surprise, but it was only for a split second before battle instincts took over. He un-sheafed Hyourinmaru just in time to block a potentially deadly blow. After that he went on the offensive, giving blow after blow, forcing his opponent to lose ground, until they were backed up into a tree. Hitsugaya had been right, this hollow, or more accurately ‘arrancar’, was extremely weak, the mere pressure of Hitsugaya’s reiatsu making it feel light headed and ready to faint. He narrowed his eyes. He recognised this arrancar; he was one of General Potter’s Fracion. And there was no way he had gotten into Hogwarts by himself.

“How did you get here?” The Fracion turned its head slightly to not make eye contact, its blade trembling.

“I will repeat myself, how did you get here?” His voice dripped with deadly menace laced with the promise of no mercy. When he saw that the Fracion was going to prove useless for further questioning he raised his reiatsu some more and cut his blade through the Fracion’s blade, continuing straight through into the half deformed hollows mask and through its head, killing it instantly. He didn’t even break a sweat. But he did learn some new things. It meant General Potter knew where he had gone and had sent people after him, possibly even coming back in time himself. That Fracion had merely been sent to see if Hitsugaya truly was here at Hogwarts. It deliberately came through the security system –with help h would assume – and had then raised its reiatsu enough so that he would notice it. It had been a suicide mission because if he killed it, it would mean that there was a Shinigami at Hogwarts, and considering the timeline, Shinigami weren’t yet aware of the existence of wizards, so by that logic he was the only possible person who could have killed that Fracion.

“Damnit!” He sheafed Hyourinmaru and sat down on a rock, placing his head in one hand. If it was true and he had been found than things could start to get nasty around Hogwarts – exactly what he didn’t need! _I need to think this over for a bit_.

 

~             ~             ~

 

At the same time Hitsugaya was leaving the castle to fight the arrancar, Hermione was sitting on her bed thinking of what an idiot she had been. She had rudely brushed off Toushirou when they had gotten to the common room and she felt bad. _I guess I’ll just have to apologise tomorrow. Man, I’m such an idiot!_ She curled up under her warm blankets and let sleep start to claim her.

A bright light surrounded her and encompassed her. She got the vague feeling of being cold before she opened her eyes. It was completely dark outside and she couldn’t even see her own hand. She slowly rested her head back down on the pillow to let sleep take her again. This time there was no vague feeling of cold, instead all she could think about was the mind-numbing cold freezing her to her very core. The light was back and she forced her heavy eyelids to open. What she saw was not what she was expecting. She had expected to wake up in her bed in the dormitory to probably find some idiot had opened a window, but instead all she saw for miles was... ice? She was on an empty plain of ice and she had the unusual and strange feeling that she was intruding in somewhere she wasn’t meant to be. The light reflected off the ice might it more intense, almost blinding her. She drew her cloak around herself tightly, attempting to draw whatever heat she could from it to no effect. Her breath came out in thick white puffs to emphasise how cold the surrounding air was.

She heard a _swooshing_ sound and she jumped up and spun around only to come face to face with the most terrifying sight she had ever seen. Standing a few metres away from her was a tall, proud-looking dragon that towered over her incredibly smaller body. But the strange thing about this dragon was that it looked to be made completely from ice.

“Human, do you know who I am?” It had a deep booming voice and the only answer she could muster came out as a small ‘no’ that sounded more like a squeak.

“I am the mighty dragon of this ice plain. I cannot tell you my name as that would be a betrayal to my master, but I seek you out young human so that you can help one that is dear to me. Hitsugaya Toushirou, my master and friend. We have developed a bond that runs strong and deep, with nothing being able to break it. But unfortunately, though it is not broken, due to things that have happened in the past, it is buried deep down under ice and snow.” Hermione’s eyes widened to the size of saucers. Toushirou was the master of this magnificent ice dragon!? What kind of dream was this?

“This is no dream. I am unable to help Toushirou at this present moment in time so I need you to help him, to unbury the bond so that the two of us can once more become one. Only then will he be able to succeed in his courageous quest.” _What was this dragon saying?_ The dragon spoke in metaphors, but she didn’t understand what it meant. What quest was it talking about?

“I know this may seem hard to take in, and what I am about to show to you will probably make you even more confused, but understand that it is all true. Are you ready?” It looked at her with red icy eyes, so similar yet so incredibly different to Toushirou’s eyes. She didn’t know what it wanted her to do, or what it was going to show her, but if it offered her the chance to rid Toushirou of his sad eyes than she would take it. She had, after all, promised herself that she would help him to get through whatever it is that he was going through. Looking straight into the dragon’s eyes she nodded her head. It lowered one wing down in front of her and she instinctively knew to touch it.

Her vision blurred and reformed into visions. It was like she was watching Toushirou’s life starting from the moment he met his granny and a girl named Hinamori Momo. She watched on, learning about Rukongai and Soul Society as Toushirou did so long ago. She watched as he was teased and picked on because of his unusual features and cold attitude; as he met Matsumoto Rangiku and soon became a Shinigami. All these terms assaulted her senses, imprinting themselves on her brain. She was horrified as she watched Toushirou be forced to fight his best – and only – friend, Kusaka, all over a Zanpaktou – Hyourinmaru, the legendary dragon of ice. His life flashed before her eyes so quickly she felt strained to keep up. And then it got to the invasion of Ryouka in Seireiti. From there things went downhill as suspicions were cast and the divisions were split. The end result was three respected Taichos betraying Soul Society and leaving to Hueco Mundo, the home of the hollows. The Winter War – as it was called – was full of bloodshed and death. Hermione felt sick and repulsed as she watched Shinigami after Shinigami dying in front of Toushirou, and even as Toushirou cut down the enemies mercilessly.

And then at one particular year everything changed. The year was in fact the year she was living in right now. At the end of the year wizards and Shinigami were forced to meet as Aizen teamed up with the darkest wizard of all time – and it wasn’t Voldemort. She couldn’t help but gasp and shudder as she saw her best friend, the person she had known since they were eleven, killing innocent people. Silent tears ran down her face as she saw the havoc the dark wizards and Aizen’s army were making in both Soul Society and the real world. She watched as Toushirou ran through the streets of a Japanese town – Karakura if she wasn’t mistaken – heading towards a clinic. She watched as the battle ensued there, leaving Toushirou unable to move and unable to save the boy she knew as Ichigo and his friend Rukia. The whole thing was tragic.

A few years of bloody, death filled memories passed and then the visions slowed slightly. It was of a skirmish on the outskirts of the 34th district in Rukongai and Toushirou was leading a small group of men around the hollow as part of a strategic plan to surround the hollows. She watched as the boy she knew commanded his men, all who obviously respected and admired him so much, arranging them in position. But as they charged into battle Toushirou paused and turned to one of the houses and walked in. The sight that met her made her gasp in surprise. The face that looked up was older and more mature, true, but the features were so obviously hers it wasn’t funny. Her guess was then shown to be right as the woman introduced herself as Hermione Granger. She looked only around nineteen or twenty which meant... She was going to die in four or five years!

After that the visions continued to at the pace they had been going at before and she watched as she slowly became a Shinigami under the watchful eye of a white-haired angel. Though his past was so full of bloodshed, as both their futures were as well, the two Shinigami found solstice in each other’s company. Toushirou had been so hurt by his best friend Hinamori when she had betrayed him that first time before the winter war, and then after her death at the hands of the man she had admired and loved Toushirou had been devastated. But Hermione helped to heal his wounds, both old ones and new, and soon friendship grew into something more. She watched, enthralled as they shared their first kiss under the moonlight by his favourite river. Time moved on, and as she had found out from his earlier life, all good things for Toushirou must come to an abrupt and painful end. This time it was in the form of Hermione’s second death at the hands of... She stiffened; she couldn’t even think it. Of all the people to have killed why was it that person? Her heart ached as Toushirou’s life continued and he grew colder and more distant with each passing day. It was easy to see that the Shinigami were losing, and that was made painfully obvious when she saw Matsumoto be killed by... Harry. Toushirou had run to the library and had performed a spell to come back in time to stop this from happening.

Her vision blurred before returning to normal. She hesitantly lifted her hand of the frozen wing, her fingers numb from the cold. Her heart went out to the brave soul that had lived through so much heart ache and pain, yet still had the strength to try and make a difference. The tears on her face were frozen solid, yet they continued to spill silently from her chocolate brown eyes. She would help Toushirou to mend his wounds and she would also help him to stop Harry from becoming a... a blood-thirsty monster! She raised her head to make eye contact once more with the ice dragon who she now knew to be Hyourinmaru. When she spoke her voice no longer help any of the fear it had before, but only a grim determination.

“I will help him, I promise you that.” The dragon inclined its head in thanks and the last things she heard as she slipped out of Toushirou’s inner world were:

“You will need to convince him to let you help him; he can be quite stubborn. To first get his attention call him by his rank, and then proceed to tell him whatever you want to let him know that you can help. Just do not tell him that I helped you.” The cold disappeared into the toasty warmth of the girls’ dormitory as she once more opened her eyes. She could feel wet tracks on her face made by her tears and she slowly lifted her head. It was still dark, but not as dark, and she could see the hints of dawn break on the horizon out of the window. She sunk back down into her warm cacoon and fell into a dreamless sleep.


	9. Chapter 9

Toushirou slowly stood up from the rock he had been sitting on and brought Hyourinmaru up to rest on his shoulder. It was completely dark and he couldn’t see a thing. He had thought long and hard over the problem of the arrancar and had been unable to come up with a solution. If the arrancar had indeed come from the future and were after him, they would probably know where he was by now so it was too late to do anything anyway. If they came than they came, and if that did happen he would just have to cut them down. He was strong enough to defeat any arrancar without breaking a sweat, but what really worried him was if General Potter was here as well than he wouldn’t be anywhere near strong enough to defeat him – not without his trusted Zanpaktou.

                He glanced briefly at the empty sword on his shoulder. It was for all intents and purposes Hyourinmaru, just without the reiatsu, the thing that he needed the most.

He went to jump into a shunpo when he felt a strange sensation in his chest. Looking down he saw that there was nothing wrong, but the strange feeling that was now flooding his entire upper-body felt familiar. Toushirou’s eyes widened as he finally recognised the feeling that he hadn’t felt for almost six years – the frigid cold power of the most powerful ice Zanpaktou. The power seemed to seep into his very core and he fell to his knees by the sheer weight of it. But there was something weird about it, off, because even though the power surrounded him it didn’t seem to be entirely directed at him either. After what felt like an eternity the weight lifted and he was able to breathe properly again. Slowly he rose to his feet and ran a hand shakily through his white hair. That had been strange and overwhelming, and for a second he had thought that his closest friend was back; that he his sins had been forgiven. But apparently that was not the case, and now that he had felt that cold again, the only thing he could concentrate on was getting back. He noticed that while he had been going through whatever it was that he had went through, the sky had taken on the lighter tinge of morning. He had been out in the forest for hours and judging from the light seeping into the darkness it had to be around four to four-thirty in the morning. All of a sudden he felt bone-tired, as though all his energy had been sapped from his exhausted body. The body could only take so much stress before it needed to shut down and repair in the form of sleep. And that episode that had taken hours had left him empty inside and the only thing that now went through his mind was the need for rest.

Hitsugaya swiftly shunpo-ed across the wide expanse of Hogwarts lawns before he reached the bottom of the Gryffindor tower, and in one smooth jump, he was perched on the windowsill. Thankfully somebody had left the window open for him and he gratefully went through and, after first stashing away Hyourinmaru in the false bottom of his trunk, he slid into the confines of his sheets and let himself drift into the state of rest his mind screamed for. But, before he let sleep take him completely, he had one last thought “Going to bed this late is going to mess up my whole day” and then he was asleep.

~             ~             ~

Harry woke to sun blinding his eyelids. He rolled over with a groan and slowly opened his eyes to look at the bright, unfocused room. As he got his glasses, Roan, in a nearby bed, also was waking up. The two boys dressed in silence, both still not fully awake and fighting off lingering drowsiness. But that was what always happened in the morning, and they both knew the routine well enough to not break the silence that seemed to be an unspoken rule. But as Harry cast his gaze over the now stirring figures of Dean, Seamus and Neville, he realised that something was out of place, different in his morning routine. He couldn’t quite place what though... And then he saw him – Hitsugaya Toushirou was in bed. In all the time Harry had known the strange student he had never seen him still in bed when he woke up – he always got up ridiculously early. _What if he’s sick?_ Harry thought to himself slightly alarmed. _Should I wake him up?_ But he knew the answer. The boy looked way too peaceful, and he would only feel bad about waking him, so he might as well just let him sleep.

With that in mind he followed Ron and the other boys out of the dormitory to go to breakfast, leaving Toushirou behind.

Hermione was coming out of her dormitory at the same time as the boys, but she must not have seen them because she kept walking out of the Common Room, not even pausing for them. In fact, she didn’t even wait outside the door for them like she usually did. _Weird..._ Ron didn’t seem to notice though as he plodded forward beside him, still looking half-asleep. When they reached the Hall the boys made a beeline for a small group of people that consisted of Fred, George, Ginny and Hermione. Two seats had been saved for them and as they sat down the three Weasley’s gave them cheery “Good Morning”s, but Hermione didn’t even look at Harry, as though avoiding his eyes. The mood was decidedly awkward but he didn’t know why – had he done something wrong? He couldn’t remember doing anything, but Hermione could be a bit strange with her moods. The rest of the morning went kept up the same atmosphere and it was definitely not his imagination, but Hermione was avoiding him, she wouldn’t even sit next to him. And if the morning couldn’t get any weirder Toushirou didn’t show up for any of the morning classes. Was there something in the air that was making people act differently to how they normally act? The only person who seemed unaffected by Hermione’s attitude and Toushirou’s disappearance was Ron – in fact he seemed happier today.

It wasn’t until Transfiguration straight after lunch that Toushirou made his first appearance of the day. Everyone was just walking into the classroom and he casually slid in with the rest of the students and slipped into a seat at the back of the classroom. He had to admit he was a little surprised, if not grateful, that his presence went unnoticed. Hitsugaya couldn’t believe how long he had slept after he had fallen asleep in the morning, and because of his extended sleeping he had missed all of the mornings’ lessons and lunch – a fact his stomach told emphatically. Even now after sleeping for an unnaturally long period of time he still felt a little light headed and fatigued which wasn’t a good sign. He shook his head a little as though to clear it and focused his attention on Professor McGonagall who had just entered the classroom. The lesson for that day would be the application of their theory work from the previous lesson which included transfiguring paper into all sorts of animals. Birds flew overhead and a rat scampered along the floor, and there was even a half formed swan floating lopsided in the air. As the lesson progressed Hitsugaya’s mind slowly became more alert and he was able to concentrate better. It would seem that whatever had affected him earlier in the Forbidden Forest was finally wearing off. He was just transfiguring what felt like the millionth piece of paper when Harry came over and fell into the empty chair beside him.

“So where were you this morning Toushirou? You missed potions and Snape missed you. It’s strange; you’re like his favourite student even though you’re in Gryffindor.” Hitsugaya gave him a weird look; Harry was even worse at reading people than he had thought. The only response he gave was a non-committed grunt.

“Were you not feeling well this morning because you were still asleep when I woke up, which is really odd.”

“I feel fine; I just had a late night.” Harry nodded his head to show that he accepted the answer.

“Well, you didn’t miss much, just some homework. Though the weirdest thing is happening with Hermione though,” Hitsugaya looked up at Harry, silently telling him to continue. “It’s like she’s trying to avoid me so I was thinking that maybe I did something wrong, but I don’t remember anything that I could have done to upset her. Do you have any ideas?”

“No, but are you sure you’re reading her body language correctly, maybe she isn’t avoiding you at all. I wouldn’t worry about it. And if there is something bothering her, she’ll talk to you when she’s ready.” Harry smiled.

“Thanks Toushirou, you’re right, I’ll just let her get over it. Well, c’ya!” And with that Harry stood up and walked back over to his chair and sat down. Toushirou watched him as he left and then watched his interactions with his friends. He narrowed his eyes slightly as Hermione refused to make eye contact with the scarred boy, instead talking to other female members of Gryffindor. Something was definitely up, but everything was fine with Harry, and it didn’t involve him, so he would just leave her be for now.

The rest of the day past quickly and soon it was dinner time. Hitsugaya sat at the Gryffindor table to eat instead of going outside, and as he ate he reflected on his half day. Nobody had commented, but he was pretty sure a lot of people had noticed his absence and then his non-absence. Also, it wasn’t just Harry Hermione was avoiding; it was him as well, which puzzled him. There was no logical reason for her behaviour that he could think of, so it must be illogical, and they were always the hardest ones to figure out. _Well, whether she wants to talk to me or not, it is her choice, and I couldn’t care less_ , he thought as he looked along the table to were the Golden Trio sat, surrounded by other friends, but in his mind he knew that he did care on some level. _How irritating_.

Up the table Hermione was silently picking at the food on her plate. Ginny was talking to her about something that had happened to her in one of her classes that day, and the twins were telling Harry and Ron about some of their more successful attempts to lure in a customer for their shady products. But it was all a blur around her; she wanted to be a part of it but she knew that she wouldn’t be able to be a part of it until she confronted Toushirou over what she had seen last night. Had it all just been some demented, messed-up dream? No, the ice plain with the dragon, as unreal as it may sound, had actually happened. But were those really the images of what the future could be like – what the future has already been like? Her gaze slid across to Harry, one of her best friends. She’s known him for almost five years now, and while they had gotten off to a rocky start they were now extremely close, and she would like to believe that she knew what the boy was capable of, to be able to say emphatically that it was impossible that he could become a mindless killing machine – a monster. If somebody had asked two days ago if she believed he could be one she would say no and then call them stupid for even asking such a ridiculous question. But now... now she wasn’t so sure and that was what made her feel sad. And because of that she had found she was unable to even look at him as the images that she had seen would play in her minds’ eye.

She knew that she needed to talk to Toushirou as soon as possible, before she went insane, but he was another person she couldn’t look at. Every time she saw him the same sort of thing occurred, but worse. Hermione had never met someone with a past so incredibly tragic and every time she looked at him she would be reminded of it; every time she saw him she would see the weight of that sadness pushing down on him, aging his face beyond his years; every time she looked into those dark pools of aqua she would feel as though she was drowning in sorrow, being crushed by despair and hopelessness – she was actually a bit surprised that nobody else could see it, now that she looked close enough. But at the same time as all this she could see the brave, unwavering commitment and she would feel unworthy to be near him. For someone to have suffered so much and yet still have the strength to move forward... it was amazing, and that was why, being a coward, she had yet to confront him. _Would he be mad that I know? He’s such a private person; I would think that he would be upset at least. Maybe he will hate me for prying into his life; into a past that he wants to erase. Would it be better if I don’t speak to him at all?_

“Earth to Hermione! Hello!” Hermione’s head snapped up sharply as Ginny waved a hand in front of her eyes.

“You zoned out there; were you even listening to me?” Hermione looked at the red head girl who looked slightly annoyed. She decided then and there that she wouldn’t talk to Toushirou about it just yet, but she had made a promise to the ice dragon and to herself, so she would talk to him about it – just not yet.

“Sorry, Gin. Can you start again?” All she got was a ‘Hmph’ before the story was restarted.

~             ~             ~

The next few days past by and Hermione had tried to make things as natural as she could between her and Harry, though she still couldn’t bring herself to act normal around the cold, short Gryffindor. Harry was walking up to the Common Room by himself as his friends had left him behind to just walk around and clear his thoughts up. He hadn’t told anyone but his scar had been slightly painful recently, with the pain sometimes flaring to a greater pain that left him with a splitting headache. He unconsciously rubbed at his scar as he walked.

_< Harry>_

Harry stopped walking immediately. It had been weeks since the mysterious voice had spoken to him and he had thought that it had decided to leave him alone, but apparently that wasn’t the case. He stood as still as a statue, but when it became obvious that the voice wasn’t going to say anymore he started walking again, only this time a bit more slowly.

_< You’ve been upset Harry. Have you made up your mind yet? I’ve seen what has been happening in your life – it must be hard for your ‘friend’ to be so distant from you. Hermione is pulling away from you, just like I said would happen.>_

Harry had again stopped to listen, his breathing heavier.

“Who are you? What do you want with me?” His words rebounded off the walls in the empty corridor.

_< Who am I? You should know Harry – I’m you. I’m that small part of you that holds all your doubts and suppressed feelings. I’ve always been with you, right from the start. When you’ve felt angry or sad, I’ve been the one to hide away those feelings to save you from the hurt. I know you’re going to ask next ‘But why now? Why are you talking to me now?’ And the answer to that Harry is that a lot of things are going down. People aren’t who they seem to be – which I’m sure you have already started to notice – and things are changing. You need to embrace me, embrace this part of yourself. Together we will get through this rough time, and with me the hurt of when your friends eventually leave you will be lessened. Embrace me Harry, let me make you whole again by combining all the parts of your mind so that you can stop being so confused. Let me help you>_

Harry was speechless. The only thing he could think of was _I’m crazy, I’m talking to myself._ But he knew that the voice was telling the truth, because how else would it have known about Hermione and his ever present doubts about certain people. And if it was right and it really was a part of him than the only logical thing to do would be to accept it and make himself whole. He was just about to accept it when he felt the hairs on the back of his neck rise up – he was being watched. He turned around to look for his mysterious observer, but no matter where he looked, he couldn’t see anyone. _I’m getting so paranoid._

“If you are who you say you are – which is me – than I guess the only thing to do would be to accept your offer. I want you to make me whole; to help me.” Harry slid his eyes closed and power swirled around him, though he didn’t notice. It seemed to seep into his very being, and Toushirou, who was in the Gryffindor Tower, was unable to feel a thing due to a cleverly placed reiatsu shield, making him oblivious to what was happening.

In the shadows, Harry’s silent observer smirked to themselves – the boy had acted as expected.

“How predictable, the gullible fool,” and with that the figure turned around with their cloak swishing out behind them as they walked away from the scarred boy, who had just slowly opened his eyes and was looking slightly dazed.

Harry looked around himself, wondering how he had gotten to the hallway he was now in – the last thing he remembered was leaving dinner to go for a walk, so how had he ended up here. Without pondering on it he hastily ran to the Gryffindor Common Room before he was seen by Filch and skinned alive.

~             ~             ~

In the morning Hitsugaya’s routine went back to normal. He woke up at – according to Harry and Ron – and ungodly hour of the morning to train before getting some breakfast. But throughout the morning he couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong. But he hadn’t felt any change in reiatsu so everything had to be fine. Maybe all this time-off and tension had made him paranoid. It wasn’t until he saw Harry, Ron and Hermione that he knew that his paranoid thoughts weren’t that at all – something was wrong. He narrowed his eyes in a frown as he studied Harry, the object of his observations since he had arrived at Hogwarts. He had completely mapped the boy’s reiatsu patterns and knew them like the back of his hand – inside and out. But now they had changed; they were different. The difference was only slight and usually not a cause for concern at all, but if Hitsugaya was anything it was overly-cautious and suspicious. The change in Harry’s reiatsu plus his feelings all morning sent of little red flags in his mind. The three of them sat down at the table and were talking like the friends they were – though he had noted that Hermione was still distant from Harry.

Harry felt the aqua eyes boring into his head and turned to look at Toushirou, and when their eyes met Harry’s blood ran cold. He had always hated Toushirou’s eyes because he felt as though they could pierce straight through his soul and uncover all his secrets and thoughts that he wanted to keep hidden from the world. However, as he looked into them now, he still got that feeling but now the eyes had developed an icy quality, as though they had been chiselled from an ice cube. They were hard and cold, and just looking into them Harry felt as though the smaller boy wouldn’t hesitate to hurt him – perhaps even to kill him. They were calculating as well, as though trying to determine what Harry would do next and it made him squirm uncomfortably. He had felt that the two of them had developed a sort of bond of friendship, even if it was slightly tenuous at times, but that was gone now. All the doubts that he had had about Toushirou came crashing down on him and he was unable to stop them. He had always thought that the boy was strange, and that there was something not quite right about him. What if he had been right? What did he want with him? Harry broke the eye contact and tried to concentrate on what his friends were saying, though it was hard because he could still feel those eyes burning holes in him, but he ignored them as best he could.

Hitsugaya tore his eyes away from Harry as he mulled over his thoughts. He had seen fear in the boy’s eyes as they looked at each other and Toushirou knew that he was the cause of it. He hadn’t tried to be intimidating or cold, but that was the way it had come across and he knew it. But one thing had been proved, Harry was different this morning. He had felt his reiatsu spike when he thought he looked at Hitsugaya, more than it would normally have done. Was Harry’s reiatsu deliberately being amplified? But that didn’t make sense – to what end would somebody have to amplify Harry’s reiatsu? And then it hit him. If he was right than that would mean a lot more trouble for him and if he couldn’t find a way to fix it then he would just have to kill Harry before anything bad happened. He rose out of his seat as the bell rang and went to follow the other students out the door when he felt it – the reiatsu that would probably answer his questions.

He pushed through the mob of students and ran to the stairs, taking them two at a time. He needed to reach the Common Room as quickly as he could, and he would need to skip some lessons – how many he wouldn’t know. It would be harder to carry Hyourinmaru during the day due to all the students everywhere, and if he was caught it would pose a lot of awkward questions that he had no answers to. He was almost there when he felt the reiatsu disappear – he was too late.

“Damn!” He cried it out to the hall that was deserted because most students would by now be in their classes. He had missed a valuable opportunity because he hadn’t wanted to be unarmed. But then he felt multiple reiatsu of hollows in the same general area and continued to move swiftly. He may not be able to speak to who he wanted to, but he would still need to engage in a battle. When he go to the portrait of the Fat Lady he felt multiple reiatsus behind the door – probably year seven students who have a free period. He uttered the password and pushed the door open and was instantly assaulted by the two people who he wanted to see least at the moment – or at any other given period of time.

“Hey Toushirou, what are you doing out of class, hm? Maybe you want to buy some Fainting Fancies.”

“Or Puking Pastilles.”

“Or maybe you want a Fever Fudge.”

“Unless you want to buy a Nose-blood Nougat. What do you say?”

The two Weasley twins looked at him with their best selling smiles, but it had no effect on him. He needed to get out of there quickly to deal with the hollows which could be potentially dangerous for the wizards.

“No thank you, I don’t want, and I will never want, any of your questionable products. Now if you will excuse me I need to retrieve a book that I forgot to pick up and get back to class before I’m any later than I already am.” He smoothly brushed off the twins and hurried to stairs and ascended up them, only to be extremely annoyed when the two boys followed him. It had become quite obvious to him over the weeks that the Weasley twins didn’t know the concept of ‘no’ and it would seem that they would keep hassling him until he bought something from them. But he knew that if you gave in and fed the hungry dog it would always keep coming back and be even more determined than it was originally. To keep up appearances Toushirou grabbed a random book from the top of his trunk and left the room, making sure to keep the door open when he left. The twins continued to follow him and try to sell him their products.

“You know, if you bought a Nose-blood Nougat, than you would have a legitimate excuse for being late to class.”

“Yeah, teachers really hate the ‘I was late because I forgot my book and needed to go get it’ excuse; it’s really old.”

Toushirou ignored them and exited the portrait. He was painfully aware of the ever growing amount of hollows in the Forbidden Forest and he knew that he would need to time his next move just right. As the door swung shut he appeared to the twins to be walking away. Knowing when a customer has gotten away the twins, too, walked away from the portrait – which was exactly what Toushirou had been counting on. When the door was almost completely shut he turned on his heel and shunpo-ed as fast as he could back through and up the stairs into the Dormitory.

“Hey Fed, did you just feel that wind? Maybe somebody left a window open in one of the dorms, we should go and close it before it freezes the entire Common Room. The two stood up and went to walk up the stairs.

Toushirou swore quietly under his breath as he heard the twins decide to investigate the Dormitories for a window that wasn’t open. That meant he wouldn’t have any time to get changed, so he would need to fight the hollows in his uniform. He hastily threw open his trunk and chucked everything onto his bed to reach the false bottom. The twins were on the stairs now and they reached the first dormitory room just as he reached in a grabbed his sword. He flung all his belongings back into the trunk and was about to leave when he felt something poking into his side. Without waiting to see what it was he pulled it out of his pocket, threw onto his bed and opened the window beside his bed. Beneath him he could see students milling about on the lawns and knew that he couldn’t be seen jumping from a window at the top of the Gryffindor Tower. But he had no time to think of how to jump stealthily because the twins had reached the steps before his dormitory room, as soon as they turned the corner he would be in full view. So without further ado, he jumped from the window and landed gracefully on the ground before immediately snapping into a roll and rolling out of sight. Nobody had seen him. _Damn that was stressful._

Fred and George reached the room that Toushirou had just left and they saw the open window.

“Here we go Fred; this window’s the one that has been cooling down the room. George strode over to the window and pulled it shut. He was just pulling away from the window when something on the bed next to the window caught his eye. He slowly bent down and picked up the most exquisite wand he had ever seen. It was a light brown colour, but the handle was a soft, powdery ice blue that seemed to extend delicate tendrils along the wand, some almost reaching the end, others not even stretching too far passed the handle. It seemed so delicate and he was captivated by its beauty. He had seen many wands in his time at Hogwarts, and even before Hogwarts, but never had he seen anything quite like this wand. And he could feel the power humming beneath the surface, giving the surface of the wand a cool feeling, making it slightly cold to the touch. Fred had joined him by the bed and he too was looking at the wand in awe.

“George, whose is this? It’s... amazing.”

“I don’t know, but can you feel that power? Whoever this belongs, I would not want to get on the bad side of them, that’s for sure.”

Meanwhile, Toushirou was shunpo-ing around students, going too fast for the untrained eye, making him invisible to everyone. He entered the forest without slowing down and soon he burst into the area to find it crawling with all types of hollows. He unsheathed Hyourinmaru and threw the sheath on the ground – he had had no time to secure it to his back. He charged at the first hollow before his presence was even noticed, but as soon as the first hollow was dead all the others turned towards him and attacked. He fought hard because even though they were weak, they had power in numbers, but he had fought way more than this and he slowly gained the upper hand as he skilfully manoeuvred his blade to slay hollow after hollow. The unearthly screams of the dying enemy shattered the silence of the forest and Hitsugaya felt for sure that somebody would hear it and would come to investigate, but nobody came. He couldn’t spare another thought on the matter, however, because the numbers of hollows kept increasing, and he was slowly being forced backwards. He wasn’t near exhaustion, thanks to all his stamina building exercises during the war, but he knew that he needed to end this as quickly as he could before he was forced back out of the forest and onto the school grounds, where his fight would be in plain sight. He grunted with the effort of cutting through the tough skin of a slightly more powerful hollow, ripping his blade clean through to separate it into two perfect halves.

~             ~             ~

After what was seemed like hours the clearing was empty and a deathly silence hung in the air. Hitsugaya stood among debris of fallen branches and bits of hollows before they disintegrated, blowing away in the slight wind. His breathing was harder than it normally was, but not too much more. His arms felt heavy as he held his sword in both hands, his arms straining slightly. He was still human after all and so was not immune to the effects of fighting for long periods of time, and he must have been fighting the small-fry hollows for almost three hours. If that was the case than everybody should be in their third class of the day, which for him would be Care of Magical Creatures. It would be too late to join the lesson now, and besides he needed to change and stash away Hyourinmaru as well. He would go to fourth, which would happen after a small recess so he had plenty of time to change and probably have a shower too.

He walked over and bent down to pick up his sheath when he felt a new reiatsu enter the clearing. Hitsugaya’s eyes widened as he felt the pressure push him down – he wasn’t ready for this! Not yet when he hadn’t re-established ties with his Zanpaktou yet. He was down on his knees and he turned around slowly to see who this mysterious new arrival was. What he saw shocked him to no end. The person was clad in the white uniform of an arrancar, and looking at him Hitsugaya had no doubt that this person was also from the future – just as the arrancar from the previous night had been. A deadly looking sword was bared as it was drawn from a plain looking sheath of red and gold and the owner took up a battle stance. Hitsugaya had never encountered this arrancar in all the time the war had been on, but if he had he would have been better prepared for what he saw – and he would be lying to himself if he said that it was a huge surprise. Standing before him with a deadly sneer set in place, flaming hair covering cruel blue eyes was none other than Ronald Weasley.

“So, I finally get to meet the infamous Hitsugaya Toushirou, Captain of a dead race. I have to say I’ve never seen anything so pathetic in my entire life, and let me tell you, I know pathetic.” Hitsugaya slowly rose to his feet, abandoning his sheath on the ground as he brought Hyourinmaru to face the front towards Ron.

“Ronald Weasley, I heard so much about you from one of your closes friends Hermione Granger, and can I say that what she told me would not have prepared me for this. From what I heard you were almost the embodiment of all that is good and just, but thankfully I met your younger self, which prepared me slightly for this meeting, because I realised that everything Hermione told me were lies that you fed her.” Ron’s face contorted into an ugly glare as he looked at the shorter Shinigami with disgust.

“Don’t you talk about her you scum; how she ended up with the likes of you I will never understand. It must have been some kind of joke to put her on the wrong side of the war; as though fate was having one last jest saying ‘figure this one out’. Together me and Harry along with Lord Aizen will rule the planet and have infinite power. I still am the embodiment of good and all that is just; I will rid the Earth of the scum that deem themselves akin to gods. Who gave you the right to control the death of innocent souls, to kill whenever you want and when it suits you. Shinigami are the enemies of all wizards and those who can’t see that are blind. I must admit that I was sad to learn that people like Dumbledore couldn’t see the truth, but it can’t be helped – there are always going to be unreasonable people in this world.”

“You’re wrong about Shinigami, they help the souls cross over to Soul Society and protect them from being devoured by Hollows, that is our job and we are damn good at it. Aizen is a traitor to Soul Society and all who follow him must be destroyed before they bring any more havoc to this broken world than they already have. But before I kill you Ron Weasley I have one question I want to ask, why do you hate Shinigami so much? I heard you talk about how you think that we think we’re gods, but I can hear the pure hatred in your tone and you have never struck me as being an overly religious man, so what is it?” Ron glared a glare that would have frozen a normal person in place, but Hitsugaya was not a normal person – you can’t freeze what is already frozen. Ron was quiet for so long that he didn’t think the arrancar would answer his question. So it came as a bit of a surprise when Ron spoke again in a low, dangerous tone.

“Because, the Shinigami killed me and my family for no reason at all. That is why you must die!” And with that the enraged man ran forward, his sword ready to kill. Hitsugaya only had barely enough time to throw himself into a roll before his head was cut off. His muscles screamed their protests at him as he ran to put some distance between him and his attacker. Once he had a good amount of distance he turned around and jumped into a shunpo to appear behind Ron. But his move had been anticipated and the metallic ring of metal on metal rang through the area. Pushing off from the sword Hitsugaya flipped backwards. He knew that he would never be able to beat Ron in his current state because judging from the reiatsu levels Ron was at an Espada level of strength.

Ron rushed forward again, this time pulling out just before he reached the boy, slicing his sword to the right of him as he changed directions to try and cut Toushirou who had just shunpo-ed to Ron’s right. Toushirou may not be able to beat him in strength, but he had the upper hand when it came to speed and so was able to skilfully dodge all attacks against him. He parried a blow to his left side and jumped up to land smoothly behind Ron and followed through with his blade pointing between the shoulder blades. Ron managed to twist around in time to block the attack, but not before Toushirou nicked the skin on his shoulder.

The deadly sword dance continued as both tried to land a hit on the other. They were in a stalemate of sorts as Ron couldn’t catch Toushirou for long enough to hurt him, and Toushirou couldn’t attack Ron head on as Ron had the superior strength. They each had very minor scratches in various places, but nothing worth noting considering they didn’t even bleed that much. Toushirou had just pushed off a tree and flew at Ron as Ron brought up his blade to once again block and he counter-attacked with a deadly strike to the side, but it never made it. Ron smirked satisfied. However, Hitsugaya could feel himself losing the strength in his limbs as his tired muscles struggled to keep pace. He didn’t know how long he could keep pushing his body to its limit before it just gave out, but he knew that if that happened he would be as good as dead and that was not acceptable! Images of people he knew, that he had sworn to protect only to watch them die flashed through is mind. Ichigo, Rukia, Hermione, his trusted squad, all the captains of the Gotei 13 and their squads, Matsumoto, Hinamori; he had to win this fight to undo his wrongs and protect them. Even if he had to continue until his last breath, he. Would. Protect. Them! With this flashing through his mind adrenaline pumped through his veins, adding strength to his tired body, all sense of time forgotten, all weariness forgotten, Toushirou was invigorated as strength coursed through him, lighting his blood on fire – a frozen, cold, burning fire. It showed in his eyes as they snapped with determination as he once more lifter Hyourinmaru up to face the arrancar, the person that Hermione had talked so highly of, the boy who – for all his faults – was kind and caring. He didn’t spare a thought for how this would affect his body as his body and mind merged to be one. He didn’t spare a thought to how ice seemed to trail over his skin, cooling it down as it covered him in long tendrils. He didn’t spare a single thought as he raised his sword in said in a deadly calm voice that slowly raised in volume.

“Sit upon the frozen Heavens, Hyourinmaru!” The head of a magnificent ice dragon burst out of the tip of the sword as all arguments between Zanpaktou and wielder were forgotten as the two merged to once more be unified as one. The large barriers that had been set up so long ago crumbled and the blue sky turned grey and then black as massive storm clouds gathered before dumping their load on the grounds below. The storm raged, reflecting all the pent up emotions that Hitsugaya had been forced to bury for so long at the bottom of his heart. His aqua eyes had also changed from a light colour to a dark, storm-ridden turquoise and Ron Weasley sensed the danger he was in. He had heard that this child was one of the most powerful Shinigami they also said that his power was probably on the same level as Lord Aizen. But it was also common knowledge that he no longer communicated with his Zanpaktou and that had weakened him, and because if this, the arrogant arrancar had underestimated his opponent. He had underestimated the lengths the boy would go to so that everything would be fixed, and now, because of his foolishness he would probably die a very cold death at the merciless hands of this powerful embodiment of ice.

Toushirou directed the massive dragon to come crushing down on the arrancar and all Ron was able to do was hold his sword up to block. His feet were pushed back a few meters and the earth was gouged where his feet had dug in. The attacks were relentless and they kept coming, and each time they came Ron felt his defence slip a little bit more until he was on his back and completely at the mercy of his foe. Hitsugaya raised Hyourinmaru once more, preparing for the final attack. In his mind’s eye he could only see one face, the one face that he had sworn to protect from everything and had failed on so many occasions. He had let her down badly when she most needed him and he had failed to save her, both from herself and from an evil man. He had loved her as a sister and as a best friend, and possibly something more as well, but he would never know. When he had died he had been distraught and had rebounded on a person that held a similar likeness in both looks and attitude – Hermione Granger. But it was that one person that had seen him through so many times, both good and bad; who was the one to help and comfort him even when he told both her and himself that he didn’t need any comfort, that he was stronger than that. But he had failed her, and now as he looked at Ron, it was her face he saw, the face of his best friend in the whole world Hinamori Momo.

He was unaware of the silent tears that trailed down his face as more power exploded from his destroyed heart. Hyourinmaru was eager and ready to finish the battle and as Toushirou raised him up time slowed down. The sword was positioned above his head, the dragon’s head rearing up powerfully and proud. He slowly brought the blade sweeping down in a swift motion, without any hesitance, the dragon gliding down after it. Ice and Earth met in a shower of shards that were like deadly projectiles that shot off in every direction. He felt some sink into his own skin, some quite deep, but he was desensitised to it, and even if he wasn’t he felt that it was a fitting punishment for what he had put Hyourinmaru through. The frozen ground glistened as the rain beat down scattering the light around. Hyourinmaru slowly disappeared and time returned to normal. It had seemed so surreal, but now as he stood in the air with the rain pounding on him, drenching him he knew that things would steadily get worse from here. The adrenal gradually left his veins as the fire dyed down and he was slowly falling, like an angel from grace. He landed on the ground with a sound thud and a couple of loud crunches and he cast his dull eyes to where Ron had lain. He no longer was there as his body had already disappeared into the howling wind. Blood mixed with water and tears as it was washed away. He looked down at his abdomen and his mind saw the large patch of blood staining his soiled school shirt. There was blood everywhere else from the ice shards, but this injury seemed different. And then his hazy mind remembered.

_Toushirou had just pushed off a tree and flew at Ron as Ron brought up his blade to once again block and he counter-attacked with a deadly strike to the side, but it never made it. Ron smirked satisfied._

It would seem that the blade had sunk into his flesh – in the left side of his stomach – but he was too lost in the moment for his brain to have made the connection that he was hurt. The blood flowed freely and his raw power flared around himself as his heart cried out in pain – not the physical pain but the emotional one. He had come so far, and he had so far to go; he couldn’t die here, on the muddy ice and drenched in the freezing rain. But try as he might he couldn’t will his lead-heavy muscles to move an inch and slowly his vision blackened and blurred and the last thing he saw was the dark, clouded sky with the rain falling from the heavens as though crying the tears that he had been unable to for all these years and then he knew no more as he slipped into blissful unconsciousness.

~             ~             ~

**Earlier that day with Fred and George**

“George, whose is this? It’s... amazing.”

“I don’t know, but can you feel that power? Whoever this belongs, I would not want to get on the bad side of them, that’s for sure.” Fred walked over to the trunk at the foot of the bed and opened it.

“Fred, what are you doing? You can’t go through other peoples’ things!” George exclaimed to his twin in surprise.

“Relax, I’m just seeing who the wand belongs to, because I’m pretty sure they’ll need it during class, and because I’m bored out of my mind I think we should go for a walk and return it to them.’ George sighed at his brother’s remark but nodded in agreement, albeit a little reluctantly.

“Ok... This wand belongs to... Toushirou.” The twins looked at each other.

“He’s being a bit forgetful today isn’t he; I mean first his book and now his wand. Well, do you know what class he has right now?” Fred nodded his head.

“He’s in Ron’s class and I know for a fact that Ron has transfiguration first with McGonagall because he was complaining about some kind of hard spell that they had to do today. If you ask me though, I would just say that he was complaining for the sake of complaining.”

“Yeah, I know what you mean. Well, let’s get going. Oh, maybe we’ll see someone in need of a little something to get out of class, so bring the Skiving Snackboxes with you.” Fred ran into his own room and grabbed his and his twins special ‘merchandise bag’ which had all the things available to sell in it.

“I’m all set, let’s go.”

The two walked along the halls without meeting up with anyone, probably because everyone was in class. It was a bit disappointing, but there would be plenty of time to sell things. They had already made so much money already and they practically taste their dream of owning a joke shop – it was that close to becoming a reality.  They talked and joked as they walked down the halls, occasionally passing a random teacher who immediately kept walking as soon as they saw the twin terrors as the staff had nick-named them. When they got to the doors to McGonagall’s class Fred knocked and George opened the door as soon as they heard a ‘come in’ from inside the classroom. McGonagall looked at them and they could almost see her visibly sigh as though to say ‘what now?’

“Yes boys, can I help you?” Fred stepped forward.

“No, we just came to give Toushirou his wand back, he accidently left it in the Gryffindor Tower, and we figured he would need it.”

“Well that was very considerate of you boys – and I must say I am surprised – but Toushirou isn’t in class as you can see. He must have come down with something and had to see Madame Pomfrey.” Fred frowned at this and George looked confused.

“That can’t be right Professor; we were just talking to him only five minutes ago because he had left his book up in the dormitory and so needed to go get it for class. He was fine.”

“Are you trying to tell me that Toushirou is skipping class?” She placed her hands on her hips as she waited for an answer.

“How would we know, we only came to return his wand.” Hermione saw that this was getting nowhere and put her hand up.

“Miss Granger?”

“I could take his wand for you Professor and just give it to him when I next see him if you want.”

“That would be great; Mr Weasley please hand Miss Granger the wand if you would, and I suggest the two of you go do something constructive for the rest of your free period.”  The twins both agreed and then left the room after placing the amazing wand in Hermione’s hand.

The lesson continued as normal, but the class was restless. Where was the strange transfer student? Everybody knew that he probably didn’t need to attend class because he had probably already learnt everything he needed to know – he was just that smart! – but he always attended class no matter what. First period, and then second period, flew by quickly and still, Toushirou didn’t show up. After the second period ended Hermione, Harry and a reluctant Ron headed over to the infirmary to see how the boy was doing and whether he was really sick or not, before heading down to Care of Magical Creatures. When they reached the Hospital Wing they couldn’t find any occupied beds. Madame Pomfrey saw them and immediately came over.

“Is there something wrong? Are any of you feeling ill?” She cast an eye over Harry, her most frequent patient, as though expecting him to just fall down hurt. Hermione shook her head.

“No. None of us are sick. We were just wondering if Toushirou has been to see you this morning.”

“No, I’m sorry dear, but I haven’t seen that boy at all today, except at breakfast, for which I’m glad. He didn’t look too well yesterday and I heard that he missed the first half of the day, but when I saw him this morning at breakfast he was fine; there was nothing wrong with him. Why do you ask about him?” Hermione was disappointed at the news and looked down at the floor. _If he hasn’t been to Madame Pomfrey, and he hasn’t been in class, and he hasn’t been in Gryffindor Tower, then where has he been? Where are you Toushirou?_

“We haven’t seen him today; he wasn’t in Transfiguration or Divination, so we were just wondering if maybe he was sick and had come to visit you,” Harry answered to Madame Pomfrey’s question.

“Though it is a bit weird, I mean if he hasn’t been here, or in class, or in Gryffindor Tower then where has he been? Students don’t just go missing you know?” Hermione looked at her friend – it was crazy how it was like he could read her mind at times. _I guess great minds think alike._

“Well, I’m sorry dears. You three should get to class now; I’m sure he’s just taking a walk. You know how he sometimes likes his space.” Hermione still looked worried, but Ron and Harry bid Madame Pomfrey a good day and took their friend and started heading to class. As soon as they were gone Madame Pomfrey left the Hospital Wing and went straight to a statue of a stone gargoyle. After uttering a random and completely strange password that was set by Professor Dumbledore, the gargoyle sprang to life and moved aside. She slowly walked up the moving stairs until she reached the big oak doors, where she smartly rapped her knuckles on the hard wood.

“Enter.”

She pushed open the door and strode inside. Dumbledore was sitting behind his desk as he peered at her through his half-moon spectacles with kind, blue eyes.

“Yes Poppy, is there something I can help you with?”

“There is. It would seem that one of the students has gone missing; nobody has seen him at all today, except maybe at breakfast. Apparently he hasn’t been in any classes and he hasn’t been in the Gryffindor Tower or to see me. The last two people who had any contact with him were Fred and George Weasley, and they said that he was fine, just retrieving a forgotten book so he wouldn’t be late to class.” Dumbledore contemplated the news that he just received. He had a good idea who she might be talking about, but he had to make sure.

“And who might this student be?”

“Hitsugaya Toushirou.” He nodded his head – it had been who he thought it was going to be. They talked for a little longer before Madame Pomfrey left the office. She was to go to Professor McGonagall and a small search party would be established consisting of Professor Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall and Madame Pomfrey.

“It would seem that you are quite the troublesome student Mr Hitsugaya.” Dumbledore’s gaze floated over the various objects in his room before pushing himself up out of his chair and leaving the room to look for Hitsugaya Toushirou.

Care of Magical Creatures class was right beside the Forbidden Forest, and as soon as the three late students arrived Hermione could feel something different in the air, but she couldn’t figure out what it was. Harry told Professor Grubbly-Plank that the three of them had just been to see Madame Pomfrey in the Hospital Wing and the Professor just continued the lesson as though there had been no interruption. It wasn’t until nearer to the end of the lesson that something strange started to happen. The temperature had been dropping slowly over the course of the lesson, but near the end of the lesson there was a sudden dip in temperature, causing peoples’ breath to become mist as soon as it left the mouth. Hermione started to shiver and wrapped her arms around her body to try and stay warm, but it seemed to be impossible. Also the strange feeling in the air had intensified, and it was then that she realised that it was almost... electric. It was as though electricity was flowing freely in the air, swirling around them and bringing the cold closer. By now all the students were shivering and complaining about the cold, but Professor Grubbly-Plank ignored them. When the storm clouds started to drift overhead causing the sky to darken to an ominous black colour Grubbly-Plank decided that it would be best if they packed up before the storm started. But it was too late. There had been plenty of warning signs, but the Professor had ignored them, and now it was too late. The rain poured down immediately drenching everyone, making them all chilled to the bone. Harry looked up to the sky with his hair plastered to his face just in time to see a lightning bolt crack blindingly bright across the sky. The wind whipped about, tearing at exposed skin and hair.

It was a mad dash to the castle as the students just grabbed their things and ran – but not Hermione. Harry and Ron had run a little way away before they noticed that she wasn’t with them.

“Hermione! What are you doing, we need to hurry before this gets any worse!” Ron’s words were snatched up by the wind so that they sounded faint when they reached the girl’s ears. But she couldn’t go to the castle because she had recognised this feeling. She had never personally experienced it, but she had plenty of times when she had been going through Toushirou’s memories. This electricity in the air that she felt wasn’t electricity at all – it was reiatsu. Toushirou’s reiatsu to be exact. She glanced up at her soaked friends before turning on her heel and disappearing into the forest behind her, following the reiatsu as best she could. The boys screamed at her to stop but she was too far to hear them, and even if she wasn’t she wouldn’t have stopped. Harry tore off back down the muddy grass to follow his stupid friend and Ron followed him. The wind was almost painful; even more so considering the extremely low temperature that had turned Ron’s fingers a nasty shade of blue.

Hermione ran, heedless of the branches and twigs that scratched at her arms and face; that caught in her hair. The more she ran the colder it seemed to get until she burst into a clearing where it was well below 0 Degrees and the entire place was filled with ice that was stained with mud and blood. Her face was full of horror as her eyes scanned the area. They strained to stare at the glaring ice that glistened with the heavy rain and then she saw him. He would have been impossible to see him due to his white hair and deathly pale skin if it had not been for the blood that covered and surrounded him. She ran over and dropped to her knees as she gently felt for a pulse. She found it, but it was erratic and slow, and slowing with every second.

“No.” It came out as whisper as she stared at his face.

“This can’t be how it ends; it isn’t your time, not yet. Please Toushirou, don’t die.” Harry and Ron ran through the foliage to reach the clearing and what they saw shocked them more than anything before had shocked them. But they didn’t have time to gaze at the surrounding ice because it was then that they saw their friend with the missing, blood covered student. Ron was pale as he took in the amount of blood that surrounded the white haired boy, and also the amount of blood that still pumped freely from a wound that was unseen. The three stared transfixed; none of them knew what to do.

“I think the three of you should head back up to the castle with Professor McGonagall to get warm and dry. Madame Pomfrey and I will help Toushirou.” The three looked up to see Professor Dumbledore standing there with Professor McGonagall and Madame Pomfrey standing behind him. It was obvious the students were in shock as they stood up without a word and followed their teacher out of the forest and away from the bloody battlefield. Madame Pomfrey immediately rushed over to help the dying boy while Dumbledore gazed at his surroundings. He had no doubt that the boy would pull through, though he might be sore for a while. But the question was what on earth happened and how was Toushirou involved in it? There were so many questions that ran through the elderly Head Master’s brain as he stared at the clearing of ice, but none of them had an answer to it. The storm continued to rage overhead without any signs of stopping.


	10. Chapter 10

The room was quiet as the people worked silently, keeping to themselves so as not to disturb anyone. The only sounds came from the soft hum of the massive computers and the small ‘blip’ that sounded every ten seconds. It was just another normal workday for the people in the room, with nothing out of the ordinary happening.  
“Ping! Ping! Ping! Ping!” The continuous ring of the computer’s tracking system rebounded around the room, shattering the silence. This was definitely not normal, but it wasn’t any cause for alarm. One of the workers left their station and gazed over the information scrolling down the monitor. They had gotten halfway through the information when the grand double doors opened with a loud bang. The person that strode purposefully in was feared by most of the people in the room, and most of the people outside the room as well. He was creepy and a little bit crazy, but he was smart. At the moment he had a frown set into his features as he roughly pushed the worker out of the way.  
“Get back to work you fool! I doubt you would even be able to understand half of these complex words!” The worker hastily ran back to their station and quickly picked up where they had left off. The man in front of the over-sized computer read through the text quickly and stroked a few keys on the keyboard and then continued to read the new text that had come up. The woman that had followed the man in through the doors stood emotionless by his side as she too read the startling information.  
“Anomaly detected in sector 142, grid 12, 600km north-east of the main sector in that area – sector 140. There have been no recorded anomalies detected in sector 142, grid 12 before.” She spoke with a voice as emotionless as the rest of her.  
“Do you think I’m an idiot you foolish girl? I can read it myself!” He spat out at the girl. “Now go be useful for once and inform everyone that there will be an emergency meeting!” With that he strode out of the room with the girl following behind. Everyone let out a sigh of relief as they released their breath that they hadn’t even been aware they had been holding.  
After fifteen minutes ten people assembled in the large meeting room in two lines with one person sitting at the very head. All assembled were worried; it had to be bad news if an emergency meeting was called. There were a few murmurings as some speculated what they thought was the problem, but they were immediately silenced as the old man banged his wooden staff loudly on the ground. They all snapped to attention and waited wearily for whatever news was to be told.  
“Kurotshuchi Taicho, what has been brought to your attention that is so important that you felt the need to hold a meeting?” The undertone of authority was evident in the old voice, as though warning that this better not be a waste of time. The scientist stood forward out of the line he stood in so that all could see him.  
“Earlier today my advanced tracking computers detected an anomaly in sector 142, grid 12 – or in other words an area in England. However, we have never had a problem here before, and my senses tell me that the entire area is just grassland with nothing of any significance there.” He paused to take a breath and look at all the faces around him. A few of them were completely stoic as normal, though a few looked unimpressed. What could be so important about an anomaly that they would need to have a meeting about it? The scientist continued.  
“Currently we have no Shinigami in the World of the Living, so that is why this caught my eye, and the more I looked at it the more impossible it seems. The anomaly that my computer detected was an extremely high output of reiatsu – more powerful than anything I’ve ever seen before.”  
“So are you saying that there is a human in England that has an abnormally large reiatsu – like Kurasaki Ichigo?” The captain that just spoke was Kyouraku.  
“Well that was what I first thought, until my scanners matched the reiatsu pattern to the reiatsu pattern that is owned by a Shinigami. In fact, it was a one-hundred percent match.”  
“Kurotshuchi Taicho, could you please get on with it.” All the captains waited to hear who the mysteriously strong Shinigami was that had caused the crazy man to bring them all together.  
“This is the impossible part, because the Shinigami who belongs to this reiatsu isn’t in the Living World, in fact they’re here in Soul Society, in this very room to be precise.” The murmuring once more started up. What was going on? And whose reiatsu was it? None of the captains felt that their power levels were so high that it would surprise the twelfth division captain, who had data on all the captains. The captain of the tenth division silently looked at the scientist who also seemed to be looking straight back at him. And being a genius he figured out who Mayuri was talking about. But he had to hear it for himself. The hall once more silenced themselves as they waited for the last piece of news.  
“The Shinigami is none other than the tenth division captain, Hitsugaya Taicho.” All heads turned to the boy and he frowned deeply. It wasn’t possible that he was releasing reiatsu in the Living World when he was standing right here.  
“I would recommend that we send a team down to England sir to investigate this anomaly.” Yamamoto nodded his head in agreement.  
“I agree to that sentiment. Hitsugaya Taicho, you and your lieutenant are to be ready to depart at 0800 tomorrow morning. Also, take a small squad with you in case this is a trap. Dismissed.” With a ring of finality he brought his staff crashing back down so that wood met wood and everyone dispersed. Hitsugaya walked out to inform his squad of his departure and he couldn’t help but wonder what he would find when he reached the World of the Living.  
~ ~ ~  
Pain, that was all he could feel. It encompassed his entire being, unwilling to release its hold on his battered body. It wasn’t just the pain centred around the potentially lethal stab wound in his side – he’s had worse before – but the overall sense of pain and weariness that came with fighting for hours on end without stopping or pausing; the mind-numbing pain of pushing your body way past its breaking point and holding it there for an excruciating amount of time. His muscles screamed their hate for him as he struggled to gain consciousness; they hated him for the abuse he put them through. It had been such a long time since he was able to operate at his full power and his body wasn’t used to it anymore which is why it felt so strained now. There had been a time when he had been at full power – not too long after he had reached a complete bankai – where he could say that he was able to fight Aizen on the same level. He could remember one battle of epic proportions that had destroyed a whole town; thankfully it had been deserted. He had taken on the mantle of most powerful Shinigami in Seireiti, but even with all his power it hadn’t been enough; Aizen had won – just barely but it was still his victory. He hadn’t been able to beat that traitor, but he knew that if he trained harder, got stronger, he would be able to finally win. Though fate seemed to be against him because not too long after that the... incident occurred; the one where he lost touch with his closest friend and ally, Hyourinmaru.  
The hospital smells seeped into his sensitive nose and he could feel the restricting tightness of bandages around his torso – a feeling that he was sorry to say, he had become all too familiar with. His body may not have been functioning right, but his mind was going a million miles a minute. There was one thing that troubled him most and it was the fact that Ron had been so incredibly strong – definitely espada level. But that was the problem, he had thought he had known all of Aizen’s top ten espada and his back-up ten espada, and Ron definitely wasn’t one of them. The espada of the present day paled painfully to the power of the espada to come, yet Ron had been even stronger still. It was concerning to say the least, and the first course of action would be to get up out of bed and go look for any hollows, arrancar or even possibly espada, who had followed him here – before they found him. He had made a mistake by waiting for them to come to him; a mistake he would not make again. If only he could get his damn limbs to move!  
He finally forced his eyes open and they blurred against the bright light that shone down on him.  
“My, I must say that this is awfully familiar, wouldn’t you agree Mr Hitsugaya?” Toushirou turned his blurry vision towards a man that sat in a chair beside the bed, looking at him intently. He blinked a few times until the picture came into focus and he realised that the man was Albus Dumbledore.  
“I do believe this is exactly the same way we met – you in a hospital bed with severe injuries and me beside you. Though if I do remember correctly last time you said that your injuries had been sustained by,” he paused with a hint of humour in his blue eyes, “falling down the stairs.” He couldn’t suppress a small chuckle at that.  
“So, tell me, what ingenious excuse have you cooked up this time? Perhaps you ran into a tree? Or maybe,” the merry twinkled left as the situation turned from the humour. “Maybe you were doing something that you weren’t supposed to be doing; in a Forbidden area no less. Tell me Mr Hitsugaya, what were you doing that allowed you to get such a large, deep cut, hmm?” The blue eyes now pierced into him as Dumbledore attempted to work out all his secrets in one go. Like hell he was going to tell the old man anything.  
“It was a very... pointy tree.” Dumbledore sighed at the response; it disappointed him to no end that this particular student felt the need to constantly lie to him. He leaned in closer to the boy.  
“Toushirou, I am the Headmaster of Hogwarts. Do you know what that means?” Toushirou sat up indignantly, only to fall back down again because of the pain in his side. Is he insulting my intelligence? How dare he!  
“Of course Sir, I’m not stupid. You are responsible for making the school run smoothly and make sure every student stays safe, no matter what.”  
“Precisely! My responsibility – my duty – is to keep the students safe, and as part of that duty I must monitor certain... activities if you will, of creatures that could pose a threat to the way of life at Hogwarts. And if one of these creatures comes within a specified perimeter around the school I am immediately notified so that in the event that the defences around the school fail, I will be able to do the task of getting rid of these creatures myself. I’m sure you know what I’m talking about by now, am I correct in assuming that?” Toushirou kept his mouth closed. This wasn’t right; wizards didn’t know about the existence of Shinigami or hollows yet, but Dumbledore was clearly talking about hollows. Had the text books been wrong? If that was the case, what else were they wrong about? Everything I know about this time period and place has come from the text books; if they’re wrong then what would happen?   
Dumbledore kept trying to make eye contact, but the frustrating boy refused to meet him. As the Headmaster of Hogwarts he knew about these supernatural beings with the giant hole in the chest dubbed ‘hollows’ but that was about the extent of his knowledge, other than the fact that they wouldn’t hesitate to kill a student and therefore must be disposed of before that. But Hogwarts was well guarded and the hollows hadn’t been much of a threat before. But two in only two days, that must be a record. It was obvious that Hitsugaya Toushirou knew something about the hollows – probably more than what he knew – so he would try and make it seem as though he knew more than he did on the subject. Unfortunately the boy was remaining tight-lipped about it.  
“Toushirou, I need to protect the students in my school, and like it or not that includes you. And whether you chose to have my protection or not I still have a whole school full of people that need that protection. If any more of these creatures – and I’m sure you know by now that I’m talking about hollows – are going to come to the school then I need to know, and I have a feeling you would have that information. Am I right?” Toushirou looked straight into Dumbledore’s piercing eyes. And people say my eyes are unnerving...  
“Professor...” Dumbledore leaned forward expectantly.  
“Yes, go on.”  
“I have no idea what you’re talking about. I have never even heard of these... hollows was it? I’ve never heard of them before. I’m sorry that I couldn’t have been more help Sir, really. It’s not like I want some strange creature attacking Hogwarts anymore than you do, but I can’t help you.”  
“I see.” Dumbledore stood up slowly.  
“Mr Hitsugaya, when I first met you in St Mungo’s you were broken and dying with broken bones all over the place, including a broken spine. And despite all that and my own mind telling me to continue to inquire what had happened, even though you had said you would say nothing else on the subject, I respected your privacy and desisted with my questions. I even went as far as to accept you into Hogwarts even though by all rights I shouldn’t have. I have not even received one letter from your old school – which is quite curious if you do think. Now, I can overlook that fact, or I can rethink your position here and also conduct a formal inquiry into what actually happened that day that Tom found you in an alley. The choice is yours and I hope for your sake that you chose the right one. Good day and I hope you feel better soon.” And with that the Headmaster walked out of the room, turning the lights off after him.  
All throughout the little speech Hitsugaya had been silent, but as soon as the Headmaster had left his carefully preserved mask dropped a fraction as a small bit of worry slipped onto his normally expressionless features. Dumbledore had placed him in a very hard position because there was no way he could reveal anything to Dumbledore, yet at the same time he couldn’t allow himself to be removed from Hogwarts either. He didn’t really care about the formal inquiry because it wouldn’t turn anything up, but if he was expelled this would have all been for nothing. Damn him!  
There wasn’t anything he could do; maybe Dumbledore was bluffing and he wouldn’t expel him. Maybe he would just talk to his old school...  
“Shit!” Toushirou’s eye widened as he thought of the implications that would have. Would Dumbledore really source out his ‘school’? He didn’t doubt it for a second. If only he could get out of this stupid bed! How long has it been? He raised a shaky hand and managed to find a clock beside the bed that read 11:29pm. That meant he had been unconscious for a few hours. It had felt so much longer.  
He shifted his body to get more comfortable and was about to go to sleep to let his body rest when he heard a quiet shuffling outside the room. Whoever it was they were trying very hard to be stealthy, but in the dead silent hallway the noises echoed loudly. He tensed his body and his body screamed back ‘NO! Not another fight!’ But he ignored the cries. He got ready to spring up as the door opened when he sensed the familiar reiatsu, making him relax his body. The person slowly crept into the Hospital Wing and he thought to himself, she will never become special ops.  
The person shuffled forward and a bit of light played across their face to reveal Hermione Granger, but he already knew that. He waited until she was close before he broke the silence.  
“You’re really loud, you know that?” The girl must have jumped at least a metre into the air as she spun around to face him.  
“I thought you were asleep! Oh wait; I didn’t wake you up did I? I am so sorry!”  
“Don’t worry, I was already awake. But aren’t you meant to be in bed yourself? If you get caught in here you’ll get in trouble.” She sat down heavily in the chair that Dumbledore had sat in not too long ago and bowed her head, her hair falling down to make a sort of curtain.  
“I’m so sorry Toushirou.” His eyes widened in alarm as he heard soft sounds coming from her and he realised that the girl was crying.  
“Wait! It’s ok, really! And if you do get caught I’ll make up an excuse for you, so you don’t need to cry.” Hermione lifted her head and he saw the sadness in her eyes and something else almost like... concern or pity it was hard to tell. But why would she be concerned about him or pity him?  
“I didn’t mean to get upset, and it isn’t your fault. I’m not crying because I’m doing something I’m not meant to be doing or because I might have woken you up. But... there is something I need to talk to you about.” Her voice broke slightly on the last word and Toushirou felt confused. He was never very good at this kind of thing and so didn’t really know what to say to comfort the crying, upset girl.  
“What’s wrong, Hermione?”  
“Promise you won’t get mad at me, please.” Her eyes silently pleaded with him to accept and his curiosity sky-rocketed.   
“Sure, I promise. Now, what’s got you upset?”  
“I know everything.” She spoke so softly that he had to strain to hear her words, but the words he heard must have been incorrect. Did she say she knows everything? Everything of what?  
“I’m sorry, I didn’t hear, can you speak a little louder?”  
“I said, I know everything.” So he had been right, but what did it mean. His confusion must have been evident on his face because, after a small pause, she continued with whatever she needed to say.  
“What I mean by that is that I know everything.” She drew out the word everything, but he was still confused. She obviously wanted him to be able to understand what she was trying to say without actually saying a word. How annoying. When she saw that he still didn’t get what she meant she got frustrated. And they say he’s meant to be smart, pfft!   
“Toushirou, what I’m trying to say is... that I know you’re from the future.” Hitsugaya’s eyes widened in surprise and he wasn’t able to stop his mouth from hanging open. His mind told him to deny it and to make some excuse to whatever evidence she had but he was unable to. How does she know? That’s... impossible!  
“I-I think you are mistaken Hermione,” he was able to force out after a few minutes of looking like a complete idiot as the surprise slowly died down.  
“That would be impossible, ne? Future! You read way too many sci-fi books, you know that? What could possibly make you believe that I was from the future; you do know that time-travel is impossible right?”  
“Watashi wa mōshiwake gozai mase n ga, watashi wa machiga~tsu te i masu, Hitsugaya Taicho.”  
“But you are mistaken, because...” His voice trailed off as his mind processed what was just said. He had continued the conversation without skipping a beat because it hadn’t recognised anything wrong as he had understood everything that was said, but Hermione had just spoken to him in Japanese. She had said ‘I’m sorry but I am not mistaken, Captain Hitsugaya’. The fact that she had spoken in Japanese was, to be frank, surprising, but not outrageously so. But she had used his title – his Captain’s title. What is going on here? This cannot be a coincidence that she used my title and accused me of being from the future. She knows! That last thought was so loud he was surprised that Hermione hadn’t heard it. His facial expression had schooled itself so that it revealed nothing, but insides his thoughts were in turmoil. This is not possible! In fact I would go as far to say that it is impossible. Maybe... It wasn’t a coincidence either that he was attacked twice in two days by arrancar, one of those arrancar being best friends of Hermione. Did she know something about those attacks? Or worse yet, was she somehow involved in those attacks? But that makes no sense! Why would she be talking to me now if she was trying to kill me? Whatever it is, I need to be careful about what I say around her from now on, just in case. He noticed that she was staring at him and his suspicious instincts went into overdrive about why she would be staring, but then he remembered that she was still waiting for some kind of response from him.  
“I have thought about it, and I have decided I will listen to this ridiculously far-fetched story of yours.” He mentally patted himself on the back. Nice job with the nonchalance!  
“Thank you Toushirou. I’m not really sure where to start, but I guess I could start off by saying I know your entire life, starting with when you woke up in Soul Society, right up until you ran for your life to get to the library so you could travel back in time. It was a very... depressing life I guess you could say, what with you always getting teased and then having to prove your worth to the other Shinigami and constantly being betrayed by those you were close to or looked up to. But I’ve never felt power so strong in my life before, and I didn’t even feel your power first hand either! But I have felt your willpower first-hand, and I have to say your determination is inspiring. You’ve had such a terrible life, but yet you still have the will to move forward and create a better day. You truly are an amazing person Toushirou and I’m glad that I met you, even considering the circumstances of our meeting – what with you being from the future and all.”  
The compliments rolled off his back as he ignored them; all his shocked mind could really think of was, this is impossible for her to know any of this stuff, so how does she? Who is her informant? They sat in quiet for a few minutes and Hermione was growing slightly uncomfortable. She didn’t know how Hitsugaya would react and that was one of the reasons she had waited so long to talk to him. But as she watched the play of emotions on his face she realised that she should have waited longer. She watched as his eyes widened with every new piece of information, going especially wide when she mentioned Shinigami. Then they had started to narrow in suspicion and distrust and all she could wonder was, what is he thinking of? And now as the silence lengthened she saw that there was a slightly annoyed glint in his distrustful eyes. She was about to break the silence when Hitsugaya beat her to it.  
“Who is your informant? How do you know this information?” In his own mind the only way Hermione could have got the information was if someone told her – the only someone around who could potentially tell her being an arrancar. Hermione remained stubbornly silent. His eyes narrowed to angry slits. If Hermione was getting information from his enemy then that made her his enemy as well. What a shame, why would you do this Hermione?  
Hermione didn’t know what Toushirou was thinking, but she knew that she couldn’t answer his question. ‘Just do not tell him that I helped you’. They had been the parting words Hyourinmaru had left with her. She looked at the boys face and her heart sank. She had wanted to help him so badly, but all she had done was make the situation even worse.  
“Get out.” Hermione lifted her head to look at the bed’s occupant who was now not looking at her, but instead at the closed window.  
“Toushirou, I-”  
“I said get out, now.” She felt hot tears prickling at the corners of her vision. Why was he kicking her out? This whole thing had been a waste of time and all it had done was make her not friends with Toushirou, which made her feel even sadder. She silently crossed the room and placed her hand on the doorknob.  
“I’m sorry Toushirou, I really am.” And with that she opened the door and exited, closing it behind her.  
Hitsugaya felt slightly bad about making Hermione upset, which she had so obviously been when she left, but if she was the enemy than he didn’t really care. Things at Hogwarts are so confusing, and now apparently I can’t tell friend from foe. This whole thing has felt like a waste of time from the very start. What am I even doing here apart from learning things that I already know? Other than the arrancar – which was my fault, and wouldn’t have been here if they hadn’t followed me – nothing suspicious has happened at Hogwarts at all. Except maybe that Harry has been complaining about a headache or something, but that isn’t the type of suspicious where I need to be involved. Urgh!  
Toushirou looked out the window again and he saw that the sky was darkening, hinting at rain – possibly even snow. That would be a good distraction from his thoughts. Every minute he stayed in Hogwarts he felt as though he was being weighted down, but now, with Hermione possibly being with the enemy, the weighted feeling increased. He had thought long and hard over what it could be but he was unable to decipher it. All he could do now was try and shut down his over-worked mind and try to once again find the blissful absence of thought in sleep.  
~ ~ ~  
Harry lay in bed, the loud snores from the other occupants making his headache increase. The room, for the first time all year, was warm and cosy because their crazy dorm-mate was too busy freezing another room downstairs in the Hospital Wing. A few days ago he had sent an encrypted message to his godfather – Sirius – and today he – Ron and Hermione were there as well – had finally been able to talk to him, even if it was slightly weird seeming as his head was in the fire place. They had mainly talked about the problem of his scar – for which no solutions were presented – but they had also talked about Voldemort. According to Sirius the Voldemort had still yet to make his first move and there hadn’t even been one spotting of a death eater yet. But Harry knew that it was only a matter of time until the Dark Lord took his rightful place as ruler of the world, enslaving those who had dared oppose him. And he, Harry, would be by his side, aiding in his conquest by lending his power. Another thing Sirius had mentioned was that Sturgis Podmore had been arrested in the Ministry of Magic: Department of Mysteries the other day. WAIT! Back up a second! Did I just think what I think I thought? Did I just think of Voldemort as the ‘Dark Lord’ and then condoned his want to be ruler of the world, even going as far as to say I would help him?! Why would I think that?! I must be even more tired than I thought if crazy thoughts like that are slipping into my mind. I don’t even know where that came from.

This is crazy! I do not, and never want to join forces with the Dark Lor- I mean Voldemort! I would never betray my friends – so many people look up tom me and believe in me. I’m their saviour! I’m not a turncoat!

This is completely and utterly insane! I’m insane! I cannot believe that I am talking – no scratch that – arguing with myself over a matter that isn’t even open for debate.

Harry looked around the room and saw the relaxed, sleeping forms of the boys in his dormitory. For once he would like to lead a normal life like them, even if it was for just one day. Why did he have to have so much responsibility saddled on him, he just wanted to be a normal teenage boy whose worse worries was whether he would get a girlfriend or not. Was that too much to ask for?   
Luckily the next day was a Saturday, which meant Hogsmeade. He had planned that he, Hermione, Ron and Hitsugaya would go together because Hitsugaya had never been before, but he guessed that idea wouldn’t work now considering the white-haired boy was stuck in the Hospital Wing. An image of the gruesome, blood-filled scene that he and Ron had run onto made him feel sick to his stomach. There had been so much blood everywhere, slowly seeping out of the unconscious boy next to Hermione. Why had he been in the Forbidden Forest in the first place, and how had he been hurt so badly? Whatever the answers, Harry knew that he would forever remember that mentally scarring image of Toushirou covered in blood and laying on a blood-covered field of ice, slowly dying.  
He felt the familiar tug of sleep drawing him in. He would need to speak to somebody about his growing instability in his mental health, but he didn’t know who he should talk to. Dumbledore was ignoring and avoiding him for some reason that he was unaware of – and as much as he tried to deny it, it actually hurt. Also, Ron was terrible at these kinds of things and he didn’t really want to talk to Hermione about considering the strange strain that had been on their relationship recently. Apart from those three, the only other person he would feel comfortable talking to would be Sirius, but they couldn’t have regular communication. He let out a small sigh; he would think of these things tomorrow when his mind was more alert instead of sluggish. He then allowed himself to succumb to the tempting allures of sleep.  
~ ~ ~  
“Taicho, isn’t this place just adorable! Look at all the strange looking shops with weird names. Oh look, that store has a fifty percent off sale, let’s go in and buy things while they’re at such a reasonable price!”  
Hitsugaya Toushirou, Captain of the Tenth Division stood with his Lieutenant Matsumoto Rangiku in the middle of a very strange town. He, Matsumoto and his squad of six people from his division had exited the Senkaimon an hour ago on the outskirts of town and he had promptly split everyone up to go look for, and list, anything that they would consider strange or out of the ordinary. He was going to have to go through some long lists, because the whole town was weird and out of the ordinary. Not too long after arriving he had been dragged all over the place by a very eager Matsumoto who wanted to do a bit of shopping ‘before the mission starts’ as she so puts it. It was annoying to say the least and he was slowly losing his temper. He glanced over at the store his Lieutenant was pointing at and he felt his eyebrows rise dramatically. The shop apparently sold all types of ‘goods for the average wizard in need’. This entire town focuses on wizardry and magic, what is going on? And why doesn’t this town appear on Kurotshuchi Taicho’s scanner?  
“Matsumoto! We are not here to buy frivolous goods from some cult worshippers! We are on a mission, and before you say anything, yes, it has already started!” A few people turned their heads to look at the unusual pair and Hitsugaya narrowed his eyes. So they can see us?  
“On second thoughts, I think I did see a shop we could go to, follow me, and do not say a single word. Do I make myself clear?”  
“Hai!” The two started to make their way through the crowds of people. He planned to get to one of the clothing stores that they had already passed so that they would be able to ‘blend in’ with the locals. It also wouldn’t do if normal humans saw two people in strange cloths carrying big swords – they would probably think that they were under attack or something like that.  
When they reached the store Matsumoto’s eyes lit up like little light bulbs as the excitement shone in them.  
“Arigato Taicho!”  
“Urasai,” he mumbled, but it was no use because she was already gone, lost in the sea of racks and shelves. He followed at a slower pace and looked at the cloths on offer. There were a lot of dress like items – for both males and females. When he finally found a pair of pants and a shirt that looked half normal (and fit) he went over to the cash register and purchased them. After changing into them, he left the shop and waited outside for Matsumoto.  
He watched as the sun steadily rose in the sky indicating the change from mid-morning to noon, but it wasn’t until after noon that Matsumoto finally left the shop, weighted down by mountains of bags.  
“Matsumoto! I wanted you to buy some cloths, not the whole damn store! Go and return those this instant.”  
“Oh, but Taicho, that’s so mean!” Her voice took on a whiny quality and to a passerby it would look very suspicious for an ‘adult’ (if you could call Matsumoto one) whining to a ‘child’.  
“Stop complaining and do it. Also, stop whining to me, people are starting to stare.” She pouted but eventually gave in. After ten more minutes and a painful farewell to the cloths she would never get to wear, the two set off, hoping to find a disturbance on the scanner so that they could pack up and go home. The town was starting to freak Hitsugaya out – there was no such thing as magic, yet the whole town apparently thought that there was and it was unnerving.  
“Toushirou? Toushirou!” Hitsugaya looked sharply to where he heard his name being called and saw a teenage boy, probably around fifteen or so, with black hair and glasses on his face, calling out to him and waving his arms wildly, almost hitting a person walking past. He could make out that the boy had a companion with red hair who didn’t look pleased to see him – though they were both surprised. He briefly met eye contact with the black-haired boy before turning away.  
“Taicho, I didn’t know you had friends in this town. Or in England for that matter.”  
“I don’t.” He creased his brow in displeasure and concentration. The boys were not even remotely familiar, yet here they were calling out his first name and now they were making a beeline for the spot where he and Matsumoto were standing.  
“Let’s go before they get to us.”  
“Are you sure? They might have information regarding our mission.”  
“I am aware of that, but we can’t converse in such a public place. We will watch them from afar and wait until we can find the right moment to approach them. Let’s go.” The two started to walk away and soon they were out of the vision of the two boys.  
Harry and Ron looked confusedly at the spot that they had just seen Toushirou at, but was no longer there.  
“Hey Harry, are you sure that was Toushirou, I mean, he looked a bit short to be Toushirou. And anyway, isn’t he meant to still be in the Hospital Wing?” Harry thought for a moment. He was one hundred percent sure that the person they had just seen was Hitsugaya Toushirou – how many other people did they know with white hair? Also, when they had locked eyes with the other boy he had seen the same coldness, and they were the same colour as well. Though there was something slightly different, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it.  
“Yeah, I’m sure it was him, though I don’t know how he’s out of bed yet, or how Madame Pomfrey let him leave either. Who was that other person he was with?” Ron smiled.  
“I don’t know mate, but she was pretty hot.”  
“She is so out of your league man!”  
“Who’s out of whose league?” Hermione appeared beside Ron with a small bag clutched in her hand. She had quickly ducked into a quill store to get new ink while her friends had waited outside for her.  
“Just some person Ron saw that he thought was hot.” Hermione smiled slightly at this; Ron thought anything in a skirt was hot. The friendly friend banter continued as the three walked down the street, and it was almost like old times. Harry wished that it would just stay that way forever, just having the friendly, relaxed and humorous conversations, just like they used to, without any of the complications life was giving them. That would be great if everything could stay as it was right at that moment – in Harry’s mind it was just perfect.

**Author's Note:**

> So that's the first chapter, see you next week for the next update
> 
> Please read/review/give a kudo/bookmark/etc ^_^


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